PMD: Harmonious Travels
by Mr.Chibbles
Summary: With no recollection of the events of the killing game, and being in a completely different universe entirely, Kaede and Shuichi must traverse the region as an exploration team in order to find clues to their past and hopefully recover their original bodies. It would seem that there are a few others in the same predicament as them. (T to be safe).
1. A New Day, A New Dilemma

**Author's Note: **This is a revised version of the version posted on my DA, the profile link is on this site's profile.

**Edit April 22, 2019: **Fixed the major bug with this file, I've never had that happen before .

**Chapter 1: A New Day, A New Dilemma**

It was dark for a while; for how long is unclear. She couldn't remember much before then, only the faint memory of reeling; what had caused such a feeling is also unclear. All she can feel at the moment is the heaviness of her body and the gentle –but slightly chilly- breeze of the outside.

As she started to awaken and regain her strength, she could hear the rustling of tree leaves and the sounds of… animals? She wasn't sure, they did not sound familiar, but they didn't sound dangerous either. Rising from her position, she looked around and noticed she was in the middle of a forest with no sign of civilization.

_How did I get here?_

Just as she had thought that to herself, she had noticed something was off. She knows she's standing but she could have sworn she was taller before.

_Before? Before what?_

The memory is just out of reach, but she can feel it…

_This isn't me… is it?_

She tries to get a good look at herself: stubby tan paws, a tail with a pink puff at the end with what looks like pins with tan balls at the end, a pink back. That's all she can assess at the moment, however this does not completely satisfy her curiosity since she has no clue what she's supposed to be.

_I'm not going to know if I just stand around here. Okay, time to move!_

With newfound confidence, she begins to walk forward, not knowing where in the world she's going. She figures if she just keeps walking in one direction, she's bound to find something different.

The forest starts to seem more and more endless the further she goes. She starts to lose confidence in her earlier assumption and entertains the thought of going a different direction, but something catches her eye: a faint, orange flicker.

_A fire?_

Fire usually means there's people, right? It could mean a forest fire too but she's out of options so she begins to head towards it. As she gets closer, she starts to see a figure near it. She quickens her pace but then slows down when the figure becomes clearer and more apparent that it is not causes hesitation and she feels the sudden urge to turn back before she's spotted by this thing.

"Hey!"

She jumps and freezes in her place, she didn't think she would be spotted so quickly since she was ducking slightly behind the trees. The strange pink creature, which sort of reminded her of a praying mantis, walked towards her.

"Now what's a small, little Skitty like yourself doing all the way out here?" It asked as it stopped right in front of her.

_You're not much taller than me_ \- _what did it just call me? A 'skitty'?_

"No need to look so 'skitt-ish,' I'm quite friendly!" The creature insisted, somehow the more it was talking the more it calmed her. Though considering what they had just attempted, it was kind of hard to stay scared.

She gathers her voice, "W-Was that a… pun?"

The creature chuckles, "Are you not a fan? I guess I should know by now that most pokemon don't like them," it waves its blade-arm a bit, "that's why I was exiled!" it ends boldly with a smile.

"Exiled! That's… a bit extreme just for some lame puns."

A pause, "I was lying, I live here – and my puns are not 'lame'!"

"Oh," is all she can say, thinking that she's straying from her goal until she realizes something weird about what the creature had said earlier so she asks, "Um, you said something like 'pokemon' earlier, what is that exactly?"

The creature stares at her in disbelief for a bit until its face lightens back up, "Haha, and I thought I was the jokester here, everyone knows what pokemon are!"

_Everyone except me apparently…_

"Sorry, I really don't know what that is…" she says dejectedly. The creature notices the saddened tone she had now taken and figures that she might actually be serious. It offers a seat by the fire, though its flames are merely embers at this point, not that it mattered since the sun had risen higher and the air became warmer. She notes the small makeshift hut attached to the base of the tree, which is probably the creature's house, and takes a seat on the log next to the fire pit. A brief summary on what pokemon are is animatedly given; the further in the explanation, the more overwhelmed she felt.

"You happen to be a Skitty, which I believe is a normal type, I'm not really sure where they typically live, but I will say out of all my years of living out here, I have never really seen one here. There was one I think I saw at the marketplace when I was a wee little Flomantis, but that was so long ago." It almost began to get lost in its nostalgia.

"Wait, so what are you exactly if you're not a 'Flomantis' anymore?" If she remembered correctly from that fast-paced explanation, some pokemon evolve at some point in their life. She's still not quite sure on how that happens though.

"A Lurantis. I would prefer you call me 'Manty,'alright?" It said cheerfully.

"Okay, Manty, you said something about a marketplace, right? Where is that exactly?" Admittedly, she was enjoying herself out here, it was better than what she was doing before, that's for sure, but she still had this nagging feeling like there was something really important she was missing, and she had a suspicion that all the answers aren't in the forest.

"Oh? Are you sure you wanna go to a place like that so soon? You barely even knew yourself just a moment ago! You might get overwhelmed at a place like that."

She thinks for a moment, "I'm sure. I… honestly I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do going forward, but I can't just sit around and expect the answers to drop in my lap!" She punctuates by jumping down from the log she was sitting on and stands firmly.

Manty stares at her for a moment, smiles, and rises from their spot, "I can't really argue against such conviction like that. Alright, I'll show you the way but first…" they walk back to their hut and, before completely entering, they shout, "hold on just a moment!" They go in for a while, she can hear them rummaging through things for a while until she heard them exclaim: "Ah, here it is!" They come back out hold what looks like a small white shoulder bag, "I used this a few times when I was younger, but it doesn't have much use to me anymore; however I think it will benefit you a bunch!" She didn't really have a say in the matter as Manty was already putting it on her; she didn't mind it, but something about it gave her a strange vibe.

_I don't think it's the bag exactly but it does make me feel sort of… dirty? Did I do something wrong?_

There was a brief silence as she contemplated her newfound feelings; she couldn't reach what she was looking for so she decided to drop the thought for now, "T-thank you."

Manty beamed, "You're quite welcome! So are you ready, it's this way!" They didn't give her time to respond as they had already started to go. She keeps up as quickly as her stubby little paws will let her.

_Geez, why couldn't I have been given long legs like them!_

It took a long while to get there; they had mostly traversed the forest until they reached an area that looked much different since the plant life was lighter in color. Manty explained that there are these places called Mystery Dungeons, this portion of the forest being one of them. They're somehow able to change their layout at any time. She's not quite sure how that's possible, even asking Manty about it didn't lead to a clear answer. Fortunately, there weren't any of the hostile pokemon that they said roamed around the area. She's not even sure if she could really fight any of these creatures with their strange powers.

After only two floors, they had made it back out and soon came across a path that led toward the main road, "and once we get to the main road it's just a straight shot to it!" Manty chimed, not showing any sign of exhaustion.

She pants, "So… it's not… much farther?" It's a miracle that she's been able to keep up for this long.

"Yup! At this rate we'll be there by lunch time. Ah, I can't wait till we get there; they sell the best berry smoothies there, y'know? Especially the pecha blend…" they ramble on for a long while. At least it's distracting her from her aching body.

Once on the main road she noticed a few other pokemon, most of them not even looking in their direction as if they were in a rush, "Time is money, as they say!" At least some things in this world were familiar to her.

They eventually came across a brightly colored archway, past that were some strangely shaped buildings; she assumes they are meant to represent some of the pokemon in this place since some of them did look similar. There's a ton of them, and it seems pretty easy to get lost. She's not going to let that stop her from exploring, or at least she would go exploring if she had any strength left. Noticing her sluggishness, Manty suggests they both go to the smoothie place to relax first.

They go up to a red building; she can't even begin to think of what it's supposed to look like.

_How does this even relate to smoothies?_

They step in; it's not particularly packed having a few seats open and a fairly short line. As they wait for their turn she ponders on how pokemon are able to have architecture like this is some of them don't even have fingers. She looks down at her paws.

_No fingers…_

"Don't go fallin' asleep already, it's barely noon!" Manty says, snapping her out of her almost melancholic state. She didn't realize she was spacing out that much. They make their way to the counter and order, she wasn't really sure what to get since she wasn't familiar with any of the options so Manty ordered her the same thing they got.

It tasted very sweet and had a certain tang to it, "It's very good!" she said, regaining much of her energy. "I know, right? It's my favorite among all of them." They seemed pleased in their own sense of taste. "So are you sure you're going to be able to handle yourself from here on? I noticed you could barely make it here."

"I can." Confident, no hesitation.

"That's good to hear. Though I guess it'd all be pointless to come here if you just turned back." Manty is almost done with their drink.

"Manty, thank you for helping me today, I think I would have been completely lost if I hadn't met you. You're a very good friend."

"'Friend'? Me?" They look shocked for some reason.

"Of course! Why wouldn't you be a friend?"

Manty thinks for a moment before smiling, it emitted a strange aura, "No reason, I suppose."

She's slightly confused, but she couldn't question further as Manty rose from their seat. Both of them had finished their smoothies, though she didn't realize it until now.

They went back outside, before she could do anything, Manty had announced that it was time for them to go back home, they had fulfilled their duty after all. She was surprised at first, but she knew it was going to happen at some point. They were saying their farewells until Manty realized, "Ah, I just realized, I never learned your name!"

_Isn't it a bit late to be learning something like that? But then again I guess that's partly my fault…_

"I'm Kaede Akamatsu."

They mumbled to their self, quiet enough to where Kaede wouldn't have heard them if she didn't have sensitive ears, "Now that's an interesting name…"

_It's the first time I'm hearing it myself, was that always my name?_

"Well, Kaede, I wish you the best."

"Same to you!"

Manty headed back, Kaede had stood there. She said she could handle herself from here on, but now that she really thought about, she wasn't sure where to even start. She began to wander around, bobbing and weaving through the crowd that had gotten bigger than when she first arrived. If only she were taller, she would have a better read on where she was going.

She winds up at an open booth that's run by two creatures that look like chameleons. Before she could do anything, they bombard her with products that are supposedly a good deal. Their heckling was annoying her, "Hey, back up! I never said I was buying anything!" This caused them to jump back, "Oh dear, brother, this one's scary!" the green one said. The 'brother' responded with the same frightened tone, "I never thought a Skitty could be so feisty!"

_Why do I suddenly feel offended?_

She decides it's best to just leave; whatever she's looking for isn't there.

_Am I even going to find anything around here? Sure it's big but…_

Her trail of thought fizzled away as she caught sight of a bulletin board that was between a tree and a mailbox which was next to a building, the building itself looked normal in comparison to the others in the area, in that it didn't resemble a pokemon. She went up to the board to take a look at it since she thought it would have more information about the marketplace. Upon closer inspection, it was not at all about this place, but instead was a collection of posters of wanted criminals, missing pokemon, and odd jobs. There's a lot of them.

_What's this even for?_

"Ya lookin' for a job?"

At first, Kaede didn't think that was aimed at her, but when she looked towards the building she saw a… very big angry weasel? She wasn't really sure how else to describe it.

"What are you?" She thoughtlessly asked.

"What kinda question is that, ya gotta death wish, kid?" It glared, and moved closer.

She reflexively moved back, "N-no, I was uh, your name! I was asking your name?" Hopefully that works in calming it.

"Typhlosion's fine. Now do ya want a job or not?" He sounds slightly less menacing.

"I don't even know what you mean by that!" She may be lost but that was no reason to recklessly take jobs she has no knowledge of.

This just annoys him, "I'm obviously referring to the posters," he points to them to make things extra clear. She looks at the posters then looks back at him, "You want me to find people?" She was in no way qualified for such a thing, she's only a pianist.

_'Pianist'? What's a Pianist?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was abruptly picked up by the Typhlosion and carried into the building. She had protested the whole way and continued protesting as she was set back down on a stool that was fashioned from a tree stump. Typhlosion huffs as he sits in his desk chair that sits opposing Kaede's position, "For someone who's lookin' for work, you're damn weak."

This catches her attention, "I never said I was going to work!"

He's already signing papers, "Too late," Something seemed off about how quickly this was going, but Kaede couldn't tell what it was. He slides over a paper on his desk so that she can see it; it has a photo with some information on the bottom. As usual, she has no idea what pokemon that is, but she can read the name.

_Shuichi Saihara_


	2. The Case of the Missing Detective

**Author's Note:** Bit of an early upload since I screwed up last time. Redid much of this chapter since quotation breaks annoy me quite a bit; they never look right no matter what I do…

-O-

**Chapter 2: The Case of the Missing Detective**

How does waking up in a forest, while not knowing who or what you are, lead to being forced to find a lost pokemon under the pretense of a job? Kaede Akamatsu knows how, but this information won't help her in finding this Shuichi Saihara.

Kaede stares at the page the Typhlosion gave her for a while, as if the answer will pop out in front of her. It seems that all the information that's on there are basic descriptors and the place he was last seen, "Market Works Scouting Branch," she absentmindedly reads aloud. This seems to bring some discomfort to the Typhlosion.

"He said he would meet me back here sometime that night," he shakes his head, "I've never seen him like that before; I shoulda known somethin' was off." Trying to ignore the regret spawning from his hindsight, he continues, "It's been a week. I remember him sayin' he was only gonna go for another one of his walks."

"Where exactly did he go?" She needed to make sure to squeeze out as much information as possible. Even though this problem doesn't directly involve her, she can't find it in herself to turn away from someone who's so troubled; plus there's nothing else she can think of doing in regards to her memory problem at the moment.

"If I knew that I wouldn't be askin' ya!" His outburst made her jump slightly, but she won't back down, "Calm down! I meant did he say anything about where he was going?" He sat back in his chair, trying to recall everything he said that day, "He said he was gonna stop by the Kecleon Shop while he was at it. I questioned them when I went lookin' for him, they did see him but he didn't say anythin' to them. He always did keep to himself…" The last part was spoken quietly.

It seemed like this was a dead end so Kaede asked, "Did anyone else see him?" Even though there are a lot of pokemon around this place, the chances of someone seeing him and also remembering him are slim. Typhlosion shakes his head, frustration building, "Asked everyone I could, no one's seen him. He might as well've vanished."

_Are there really no leads? Why would he go through the trouble of hiding himself like that… No, maybe they were too busy to notice a stranger that had no business with them… Unless…_

"Did they say what he bought from the shop?" This might be another dead end, but it was worth a shot. It seemed like Typhlosion wasn't expecting that kind of question, "I didn't think ta ask them." Now it was Kaede's turn to be surprised, "Wouldn't that be the thing to ask though?" She was starting to doubt her line of questioning, she wasn't an expert in investigations. However her doubts were replaced when Typhlosion said, "I ain't an investigator, just an enforcer." He pauses and gazes up, disappointment growing in his voice, "I'd say that I'm the manager here too, but I can't even keep my damn branch together." She's not entirely sure what he means by that, but now wasn't the time to think about that, "Let's go ask them."

-O-

Once they were nearing the shop, Kaede was slowly remembering her unpleasant moment at the place, but she figured it would be alright this time considering Typhlosion's assertiveness.

"Ah, Officer! Pleasure to see you, again!" The green one said. Said officer skipped the pleasantries and got right to the point, and they answered after a while of trying to remember something that happened a week ago, "If I remember correctly, he bought some berries and a map."

The purple one continued his brother's line, "He asked me to mark the map after purchasing it."

Typhlosion glared at the green one, "Ya never said anythin' about that!"

They both flinched and the purple one said quickly, "D-don't burn the place now! Uh… I forgot to tell my brother about it, isn't that right!?" The green one agreed too rapidly, "T-That's right! I wasn't even here!"

"No, that's wrong!" Kaede exclaimed before following it up, "You just said what Saihara-kun bought, so even if you weren't here, you were aware of it." They go pale and stay silent until the left one says to the right, "I gave us away, my apologies brother." The purple one looks over, "No, I shouldn't have carelessly mentioned his request like that…" Typhlosion is livid, "You were withholding important information like that, do you have any ide-"

They bow in unison quickly, "W-We're sorry! He paid us to keep quiet!"

That caught Typhlosion off guard, "He did? Why?" They said they didn't know why since Shuichi never told them. To compensate for their error, the brothers give them a copy of the map he had bought and marked it in the same manner. After inspecting it, Typhlosion asks –or forces them, really- to hand over some other equipment for the sake of the case; they comply, possibly not wanting their shop to be incinerated.

Typhlosion and Kaede leave the shop and follow along the road. It's crowded and Kaede almost loses the bigger pokemon until he stops at a sign post that reads 'Dodrio Stop.' She guesses it's similar to a bus stop until the 'bus' actually arrives; it's more like a wagon stop. They stepped onto the open cart, which had a few occupants in it, and sat on the left side. Typhlosion informs her that this will take them three quarters of the way, from there it's a small hike. The bird-like pokemon at the head of the vehicle first went slowly and then immediately starts running when the path is clearer.

-O-

It doesn't take long for them to reach their stop, it's a shack on the side of the road; it reminds Kaede of a convenient store with the amount of fliers that are on the outer walls. She looks around; this seems like the only building out here which makes her question why a store would be set up out here when there's only forest. She asks Typhlosion about it as they begin to make their way through a rugged path in the forest.

"There's a mystery dungeon near here, so the guilds made this a sort of outpost. The dungeon ain't related ta us." He stated, adjusting the strap of his messenger bag that he commandeered earlier. She continues questioning, "What are guilds?" Not that she didn't know exactly what guilds are, she just had a feeling that they had a different function in this world, he gives a sideways glance that seems to say 'how do you not know,' but he keeps that to himself and explains that they're groups of pokemon that do anything from exploring lands to apprehending criminals. If that's true then, "Are you part of a guild?"

"No." He stated plainly before rethinking, "If ya wanna get technical, we are associated with them, but we mostly just gather information for them and maintain order."

She assumes by 'we' he means just him and Shuichi since there wasn't anyone else in or near the building, now that she thought about it, it seemed like people were avoiding the place; though she can kind of understand why since one of the workers can be intimidating.

Thinking on their first meeting, she begins to wonder, "Is it really just you two doing all the work?" there were a lot of posters, some of them were overlapping and seemed haphazardly put on. He answers, "Yeah, but there usually isn't that much work to be done." There's a pause, "It has been unusual…" Kaede asks what he means by that.

"There usually aren't this many cases, it's like people just up and leave," he waved his hand around to emphasize, "at most, there were only 'bout five or so requests a week, then before I know it there're thirty of 'em!" He's slightly irritated, "It's just too much for my branch to handle, even with the extra help."

She's not too sure how the job system works in this world, so she doesn't fully know how strange this spike is; though Typhlosion doesn't seem to know either.

They eventually reach a clearing that was near the base of a mountain. Typhlosion pulls out a compass and the map to reevaluate it, "This does say it's here…" They both look around with nothing in particular catching their eyes, there's mostly just grass and a few stray boulders. They split up to survey the grassy area easier, soon Typhlosion calls out from near the mountain. From Kaede's position, he was behind one of the boulders that were closer to the mountain.

She runs over, spotting the strange hole in the mountain. It was small, but slightly bigger than her, and had a flat stone border with some odd relief on it. Part of the relief was scratched into for some reason; the scratches themselves looked almost like a face with a teardrop coming from it. "What is this?" Kaede asks. Typhlosion contemplates for a moment, "Not sure. It doesn't sit well, though." He had a point, she had never seen something like this and since it happens to be the only thing out here, this was probably where Shuichi went.

_But why though…_

"We're not gonna get answers standin' here," he said as if reading her thoughts, "but, that being said," he pauses, "I can't continue from here." Kaede was about to ask why before realizing what needs to be done, he continues while shuffling through his bag, "I don't want to risk it, but we don't have much choice," he pulls out a small device and a container, and places them on and in her bag respectively, "This clip light should help ya, and the container is for him… if ya find him that is…" He seems doubtful. Kaede nodded, "We'll find him."

She steps in.

It all goes smoothly till she suddenly loses her footing and begins to tumble downward, hitting the bottom. "Ow…" She tries to collect herself.

_Nothing seems to be broken at least._

Looking around, she finds that she is in a more spacious area than before with the air feeling slightly fresher than it was before. The walls are encrusted with small crystal-like fragments that reflected the light coming from her clip light, making the area more evenly illuminated. If she wasn't too focused on her current task, she'd remark on how pretty it is.

She hears a faint sound behind her, which gives her chills at first until she realizes it's Typhlosion's voice. Her fall wasn't exactly quiet and he was probably checking if she was okay, she can't really tell what he's saying. She yells back saying she's alright and goes to explore, making sure to follow along the wall and watching her step. As she continues along, she can feel a breeze pick up. She calls out a few times to see if anyone responds, but all she gets back is her echo.

Distracted from her search, she hits a wall – or at least that's what she thought till she noticed they were actually steps. There's nowhere else to go so she tries to climb them, proving to be a laborious action considering her stature.

_Really wishing for those long legs now._

At the top is a stone wall with various etchings of creatures on it, it seems similar to the markings she had seen earlier at this area's entrance. It's surrounded by tiled floor and two pillars. She inspects the wall for a while, thinking it might be a door if there are stairs that lead to it, but there's no luck. She slumps.

_Is this really it, I really don't want to climb back down._

She jumps back up and exclaims, "No! This can't be it! There's gotta be something, I can feel it!" There's nothing to prove this feeling until she hears it, something other than her echo; it's faint, even fainter than Typhlosion's concerns from earlier, she listens.

"…re….lo..."

"..or…tton…"

"…"

Silence.

Her suspicion is confirmed, this does not help her in opening the path, but it does heighten her spirits. While going for her second attempt, she trips on a crevice in the floor, falling face first on a tile that lowers from her weight. The place starts to rumble. She immediately gets up, ignoring the pain, and sees the stone wall raises with light seeping from the other side.

Once lowered fully, she cautiously walks in until she notices a moving tuft of black fur with a hat on it which she recognized from a photo she had saw earlier. She runs up to it, it lifts its head from where it's laying and sees her.

"Wait! Stop!"

She freezes.

"The Door!" It continues, trying and failing to move from its spot.

"Door?" she parrots and looks back, seeing the door close back down faster than it went up. She runs to it in vain, the exit is blocked. The room is still for a moment, letting the situation sink in further.

The black tuft drops it's head back down with a slight thump, "We're going to die here…" it mumbles. Kaede hears disapprovingly and walks back to where he is, "Hey! Don't say things like that!"

It stays quiet.

While soundlessly walking away from the door, which appears to have been scorched on this side, she takes in the appearance of the room. There was light coming from the outside through the ceiling; plant life littered the columns that held the place up. A large portion of the room's center was surrounded by a moat with what looks like clean water. Even though the place looked ancient, it seemed well kept. If it weren't for the columns she'd say this place was empty.

The black and blue pokemon wasn't moving much, "Are you okay? Are you injured?" She looked over it for a bit in worry, there didn't seem to be any injuries. It almost seems like it won't respond until it pipes up, "I'm tired… that's all." This gives Kaede an idea.

She fumbles with her bag for a while, it's hard to get a hang of it and she was kind of use to other people messing with it for her. After much trial and error, she manages to get the container out, which fortunately had an easily pushable button. It pops open to reveal an assortment of berries and… are those bouillon cubes? She'll have to ignore that and the watering of her mouth for now. She slides the container towards him and then jumps as it immediately begins to snap at the contents in it.

After scarfing down everything except the container, it apologizes for its action since it had not seen food for a few days since its rations had ran out. It begins to sit up, showing that it was feeling slightly better than before.

She already has a good idea of who this is, but just to be sure, "You're Shuichi Saihara, right?" He nods hesitantly, before she could question any further he asks, "You're not part of a rescue team, are you?" Not an ounce of optimism in his voice, as if he already knows the disappointment heading his way. She was taken aback by this, "No, I'm not. Y-you don't have to sound so hopeless, we'll get out of here." He stays silent, skeptical of her words. Not wanting things to get dreary, she decides to keep talking, "I'm Kaede Akamatsu, by the way, though I can't say I've been exactly myself lately, but, I mean, it could be worse I'm sure…" she trailed off.

He didn't pay much attention to that last part since he fixated on her name, "Kaede Akamatsu…" he slowly repeated. "Hm? What is it?" She asked, not too sure if he was really addressing her, "Huh? Oh, it's nothing… I think…"

"You think?"

_Does he know something?_

"A-anyway," as if intentionally cutting her thought, "you said you would get us out of here…" he doesn't bother to continue since she rises from her position, her tail slightly wagging, showing more confidence in her earlier proclamation, "Right!" She begins to look around the room as Shuichi tells her that he couldn't find much of anything, he even tried climbing up to the ceiling, which didn't end well.

"Have you given up?" She asks in response to his tone, he doesn't answer and lowers his head. This upsets her, here she was trying her best to get them both out and he's already forfeited. She stomps over to him and he makes the effort to not look at her. She feels a sudden urge and follows on it.

Kaede used Tail Slap!

"Gah!" His hat nearly flies off, "W-what was that for!"

_Is he serious?_

"You're the ultimate detective, figure it out!"

He sits there stunned for a moment, as if something clicked. Kaede almost didn't catch what she had just said, she wasn't even sure where she had gotten that term from, but it feels really important to what she was forgetting so she takes a mental note to talk about it later. The top priority right now is getting out of here.

"Akamatsu-san," she straightens in attention, "do you think you could help me?" This almost causes her to snort, "That's kind of what I've been doing," why else would she even be here.

"Ah, no, I mean, there might be a way, I wasn't able to do it alone but now that you're here it might work out… maybe…" he starts to look down, his hat obscuring his face more, not that his fur wasn't already doing that.

"Gee, don't sound too confident, now," now probably wasn't the time for sarcasm, "So what's the plan?" Shuichi wordlessly gets up and walks over to the left corner of the wall opposing the stone door, there's a structure that hangs from the wall down towards the floor, within their reach. He then points to the right corner to show that there was a lever identical to this one, "I thought they were useless ornaments when I tried pulling on them, but I'm guessing they're supposed to be pulled at the same time… unless they really are just useless…"

"It's worth a try, right?" Kaede went over to the other leaver before Shuichi could doubt his theory any further. She could hear Shuichi as she was running over, telling her that they need to be ready to run for the door in case it closed on them again. After agreeing and now standing in front of the leaver, she counts down. At one, they both jumped up to grab, the rumbles of the ground confirming their success.

They both let go and quickly head toward the door only to stop and see it wasn't that door opening, instead the center of the room was opening to reveal a spiral staircase that appears to go into deep darkness. The quaking stops once it completely opens, they stare at it for a while until Kaede begins to walk over, preparing to go.

"You're not actually going to go down there, are you?!" Shuichi was very weary of where it could lead. She knows it could lead to danger, but staying here and starving wasn't a better option. Deep down he knew that too, which is why he reluctantly followed along.

The deeper they went the less light from above seeped down. They figured that the entrance doesn't close like the other one, "It's kind of weird, why even design it like that…" He got lost in thought, trying to keep his mind off the encroaching darkness. There wasn't going to be answer, those who built this structure are probably long gone.

Kaede decided to change the subject, mostly because she really wanted to know, "So why did you come out here?" He doesn't answer immediately; she almost thought he was going to dodge the question until he spoke, "I wanted to know something."

That answer was too vague for her taste, "What exactly?" Again he hesitates, long enough to make Kaede think that he really was going to dodge it this time. She was about to say that he didn't have to tell her if he didn't want to until he elaborated.

"I wanted to know… if I could really get my memories back." Kaede almost trips when she hears this.

_Is he… like me?_

Shuichi continues, regret veiling his voice, "…but, nothing was here. I had a feeling it was all too good to be true, but I was still dumb enough to go for it."

_He's doing that thing again._

"You don't have to beat yourself up about it; I probably would have done the same thing for something that important. Plus, you haven't even explored the whole place yet, so there could still be a way." She feels the need to stay positive in such a situation, not just because there's a fluff ball of pessimism with her, but because it's starting to feel like this is a never-ending staircase and the darkness that her clip-on light is barely illuminating is starting to even fill her with dread.

Shuichi doesn't argue, since it would be a futile effort he presumed, and instead says, "You never see the downside to things, do you?"

He's not entirely wrong, however, "I wouldn't say 'never' exactly, it's just that moping doesn't help much."

"I don't mope!" He incredulously said and then was quickly being proven incorrect in his assumption that she was referring to him when she hummed, "I never said you did." She couldn't suppress her giggle much; he stayed silent, not wanting to say anything foolish again.

Kaede couldn't tell how many steps they have gone, but she could tell when she took the last one by tripping and face-planting the floor. This caught Shuichi by surprise, "Are you okay?!"

_If I do that ONE more time!_

After mentally threatening herself for her clumsiness she gets up, "Yeah, I just thought the bottom would be farther," she can feel the slight ache of her paws, "I'm glad I was wrong."

She shined the light around; all they could spot was another door. Fortunately this one was more straightforward and had a button at the side, which Kaede wasted no time in pressing. It leads to a corridor, itself leading to… another door.

"Ugh, enough with the doors!" She said in irritation. Shuichi couldn't agree more but something else caught him, "Hey, does this door look different to you?" She gave it an onceover with the light, he was right, the others had been made of stone with etchings, this one was metal and plain, aside from some of the rust. There didn't seem to be a switch anywhere near it, they looked around the corridor, noting that it was less cave-like and ruin-like than everything else so far. He was tempted to say that this was a dead-end, but that didn't sound right to him, why else would it lead here?

Kaede's light had landed on part of a wall that was different from the rest; it was a vent grate that was about the size similar to the entrance she had used prior to getting to the cave. The vent looks like it had been welded to the wall rather than screwed in like most, "We can't really tear it off…" she pondered. Even if they could, there's no telling where it could lead, but if Shuichi was being honest with himself he'd know he was really craving freedom; he was sick of the dark, sick of the walls, he was down for anything at this point, "I could try."

She looked at him, "You're… not gonna bite it off are you?" Seeing as how he also doesn't have any fingers. "No, I have something better than that… I hope," he tried to relax himself so he could focus, not knowing if he had the energy for it, "you should stand back… and keep the light on it." She did just that, waiting in anticipation.

Shuichi used Dragon Beam!

The silence was obliterated by the beam that destroyed the vent, the bare metal walls not doing much to absorb the sound. "W-woah! How'd y-you do that-t?" Kaede tried to ask, hoping he wouldn't catch how shaken she was, she could barely hear much over the ringing of her own ears. "U-um," he wasn't very prepared for the noise either, "I j-just do, I guess."

They both look over at the grate, or lack thereof, since it had been completely incinerated, there was still a faint red glow at the edges. "We should wait for it to cool," she suggested, "if you could do that, why didn't you get rid of the stone door?" He looks away slightly, "I tried, and it didn't do a thing."

Now that she thought about it, she did recall seeing dark marks on the door; she never would've guessed it was from him, "No chance it would have worked on the metal door either, right?" He shook his head, "I'd run out of energy, that I'm sure of."

After the vent had cooled and they had collected their nerves, they stepped in and crawled, quickly becoming apparent that other parts had melted slightly, "I might have went overboard," he spoke to his self. "Go big or go home, I suppose," she spoke quietly, not wanting to agitate her ears again. He mumbled, "I'd rather be home."

They reached the end with no trouble, there was no grate impeding them this time, much to their relief. It was another open and well lit area, however this time it was lit up artificially with florescent lighting. It seemed reminiscent of a hanger, but it lacks planes or any vehicles. Stray papers were scattered across the floor. Before they can see anymore the lights shut down, causing them both to jump. A booming voice follows.

"You dare enter my lair so crassly and without invitation-ah~! Those who intrude will face divine punishment-ah~"

A loud bang followed. Kaede was scared but steeled herself; Shuichi was frightened and completely lost.

The room brightened, a lone ominous figure stood. The purest of white, the shiniest of gold. It oozed a supreme power.

They all stood for a second, the tension disguising it as an hour. No one dared to move-

"Actually, never mind," the godly figure said lazily. This caught both of them off guard. The figure radiated a dark aura that gradually got smaller until it took the form of a black fox-like creature, "y'know I was gonna have some real fun," it paused then shouted, "days ago that is! God, you're slow!"

They're dumbfounded.

It continued to huff, "I waited for a week! What took you so long, I expected better than this!"

Wanting to break the confusion, Kaede attempts to recover and asks, "W-who are you?" The fox looks away in disgust, "Do I look like I'm talking to you, Stubs McGee." He rhetorically responded, which shocked her, "E-excuse me?!"

He ignores her, "Hey, c'mon explain yourself, O great detective, why'd you keep me waiting? I was getting real bored, y'know, I almost ditched the whole plan."

Shuichi is at a loss for words, he has no idea what he's talking about. He's never seen this creature before, not even in the files. He's hesitant but all he can think to ask is, "Who are you?"

Kaede says off-handedly, "I don't think he's going to bother ans-"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked!" He says, delight filling his face. They all prepare for the big reveal, "I'm the Supreme Leader of everything and everyone, Kokichi Ouma!"

-O-

**Bonus:**

Shuichi is at a loss for words, he has no idea what he's talking about. He's never seen this muscular man before, not even in the files. He's hesitant but all he can think to ask is, "Who are you?"

The ominous figure turns around revealing, "That it was I, Dio!"


	3. A Supreme Pain

**Author's Note:** I almost edited Kokichi's lines since he seemed too mean, but there could be a possibility that he was like that in the game. It's been a while since I've played, honestly.

-O-

**Chapter 3: A Supreme Pain**

It should all be alright, Kaede had found the detective that had gone missing a week ago. They should be out and free now, but instead they have been troubled by what she can only describe to be a brat.

_It's all too familiar._

"Kokichi Ouma," Shuichi had started, Kokichi quickly injected a 'that's my name, don't wear it out' before he could continue his sentence, "you're the reason I was trapped for a week?"

"Maybe," he answered plainly, "though I will say it wasn't meant to take that long, that was your own dumbness." This seems to strike a chord in Shuichi. Kaede stepped in, "There's no need to be harsh, why would you even do something like that?"

He sighs, "Again, not talking to you." This was starting to get on her nerves, "Would you knock it off, he almost starved because of your dumb plan!"

"So?"

"'So'?! He could have died!" She'd throttle him if she could, but she knew that violence won't help them. He shrugged, "Not my problem. Besides, I wouldn't have let it go that far." Before she could continue he returned his attention to Shuichi, "You gonna start interrogating me or are you just gonna cry forever, I don't have all day." As if it wasn't his fault that the detective was stuck here to begin with.

Kaede was about to start again, but Shuichi spoke up, "A-Alright," moping isn't going to help anything, "Why did you trap me here?"

The fox looked disappointed, "Maaaan that was a boring question. Ask a different one." He wasn't sure what he was getting at, it was really testing his patience or maybe, "Were you testing me?"

He claps the best he can with his little paws, "Oh. Bravo! Yup, that's exactly it."

"Why?"

"'Why' what? You gotta elaborate, y'know." Shuichi was definitely losing patience, probably not as quickly as Kaede was, but it was a considerable amount to make him point and shout, "You know damn well what I mean!"

This startles him, almost brought to tears even, but he saves them for later, "I needed to know if you were the real deal."

"So you built this whole structure just to see if I was the 'real deal'?" He asked skeptically, there's no way this small puff ball built the place, especially considering the more ancient parts of it.

"Yup, all me." He smiles.

"He's lying," Kaede says quickly.

He sighs again, "What have I been saying?"

She puffs up, countering childishly, "W-well, maybe I wasn't talking to _you_!" This seems to shock him and he begins to tear up, "A-Are you ignoring m-me, WAAAAHAAAAHHHHHH!" No one's falling for it, "Knock it off."

"Fine." That was a quick recovery. Shuichi continues his interrogation, now more cautious about Kokichi's potential to lie, "Were you the true sender of the note, then?"

The fox feigned ignorance, "What note?"

Shuichi knew this but went along with it, "The one that said where I could get my memories back."

"Oh right, that note! I had almost forgot, I mean it was just so long ago since I had handed it to you." He could tell he was trying to take another jab at his inability to escape, but he presses onward since he noticed the phrasing, "You weren't the one who gave it to me, though…" The fox snickered menacingly, interrupting Shuichi's admission, "Ah, yes, who was it that gave it to you? Be sure to speak clearly so the whole class hears you, we all know how you love to mumble." This drew Kaede's attention.

"A Lurantis."

_A Lurantis… No it couldn't be the same one…_

There was no way, they weren't remotely similar; appearances aside since Kokichi had proven earlier he can shape-shift. "Seems a classmate has gone pale. What's wrong, classmate-chan?" He did not sound remotely worried, "Or, should I say – Akamatsu-chan." She didn't like how her name was grating her ears when he spoke it in that faux sympathetic tone.

Shuichi needed to know, "Do you know him, Akamatsu-san?" The doubt in his voice was evident, she understood why; if she knew Kokichi prior to this meeting, then it would seem like she was involved with his plan.

"N-no, I don-"

"She's lying, Saihara-chan."

Kaede's frozen, her mind had gone blank. If she didn't explain herself soon, Shuichi might not trust her anymore, causing her to lose the only clue she may have to her past. The devious fox explained, "She met with me before,"

"That's not-"

"It was her idea actually,"

"No, that's-"

"Especially that locked room,"

"Wait-"

"She just loves helpless weaklings, ain't that right, Akamatsu-chan?"

Shuichi says something to Kokichi, which was drowned out by the last bit of arguing, Kokichi halts his harassment to get him to clarify, "No one can hear when you mumble."

Shuichi spoke louder, "Why should I trust you?" The fox tilts his head, "Huh? Would you rather trust her?"

He retorts, "T-That doesn't answer my question!" Kokichi sighs, "I kinda thought we were past the whole interrogation thing," he said as if he wasn't the one who suggested doing it, "besides, you should trust me since I can get your memories back."

There was an uncomfortable silence; neither of them knew what to do. At least, that's what it had seemed like until Shuichi spoke, "You're lying."

The fox sighed harder, and then grumbled disapprovingly, "Figures you'd take her side," He begins to walk away from them, "well, I predicted as much anyway." The both of them shout for him to wait and proceed to go after him, leading him to quicken his pace and show that he was faster than the both of them.

He leads them both to an alcove in the back right corner of the hanger that was not visible from where they were positioned from before. The door is opened and leads down a long path that proceeded to get darker the deeper they went. They two were growing exhausted all while Kokichi seemed to be enjoying it, taunting them for their slowness. It did not help that the path steadily inclined upwards. His form was getting smaller until he was gone in the distance, the others slowed to a crawl. To their relief, they could eventually see a light at the end, which gave them a boost of energy to hurry out of there.

Fresh air and open sky had greeted them.

Shuichi immediately collapsed onto the grass, Kaede hurried to him –or tried to since her energy was spent, "You okay?!" She had a feeling she knew the answer, considering they ran up a hellish slope and he was already exhausted due to his time of isolation. He gave an incoherent response. She looked around, as if she could find help all the way out here.

They seemed to be on a side of the mountain, it wasn't too high up, if they had the energy they could probably hop downwards. She looked over the edge and saw the clearing that she had started at, and then called out hoping she would get a response.

"How'd ya get up there?!"

She could see Typhlosion near one of the boulders, and then explains part of what happened and how they both need help getting down. To her surprise, he was a good climber, or more accurately a good jumper. He picked both of them up effortlessly and jumped back down, making sure not to jostle them too much. Without asking, he carries them through the forest and back to the Dodrio stop. Neither of them really had the strength to walk back on their own.

As they were riding back, Kaede looked over at Shuichi, who was lying between her and Typhlosion, and asked if he would be alright. Typhlosion responded, "He may be weak for a Deino, but somethin' like this ain't gonna take him out." To their surprise, they heard an offended voice, "I'm right here." She expressed her concern, "You should rest, Saihara-kun." He shook his head, "I'll be fine… maybe…" This didn't convince her, but she let it pass so they wouldn't waste the last of their energy on arguing.

Shuichi half-speaks-half-whispers to Kaede, "I'm sorry for all the trouble."

She wasn't prepared for something like that, "It was no trouble at all." This whole endeavor may prove beneficial to her in her quest to remember who exactly she is, and she'd do anything to regain her former self. He expressed his doubt in her words; they had been through quite an ordeal after all. It didn't seem like he would budge from his stance, so she decided to steer the conversation elsewhere, "It's not like I was forced to," she pauses, remembering how she had the case thrown upon her, and retries, "uh, I mean, I could have just refused to help out, completely walked away, you know? But the further I went, the more obvious it was that you might be connected to my past."

He doesn't get it, he's never seen her before today; the name may have brought him comfort, but for all he knew he could have just seen it long ago on a poster, "How?" Disbelief still tinges his voice.

"Well, you have amnesia too, right? That can't be a coincidence." She said with certainty.

He wasn't sure if he was exhausted or if he heard her right, "'Too'?" Is all he could think to say, she affirms, "Yeah. I woke up today not knowing anything, well except that maybe this isn't my real form." Shuichi contemplates, "That really can't be coincidental…" talking more to himself than her.

"So, you couldn't have planned it…" He had said that so quietly, she almost didn't hear him over the sound of the wagon's wheels turning. She was disappointed that he still doubted her, but she couldn't blame him since they had not known each other long.

_It still hurts though…_

"About that," Now that she had time to articulate her thoughts, and didn't have evil incarnate heckling her, she can tell him exactly what had happened, "I actually did meet him earlier today, he was the very first person I met actually, but he didn't look or sound like that. He told me to call him 'Manty' and he took me to market place after I asked him to, and even gave me this bag," she reminisces sadly, "I hate to admit it, but he helped me out quite a lot."

"I see." Is all Shuichi could say.

This unsettled her, "Do… you think I'm lying?"

He tried to shake his head, "It's not that… it's just," he pauses, almost dozing off, "it doesn't make sense…" Kaede doesn't know what he's getting at and tries to get him to explain further, but she gets no response other than a light snore.

The ride slows to a crawl before stopping, it was fairly dark out. Typhlosion picks them both up and steps off the wagon, heading in a different direction from the Scouting Station; Kaede asks him where they're going and he responds simply, "Ta my house, ya both can barely walk. Too late ta be workn' anyway." They walk silently the rest of the way, there's much less pokemon out and some shops were closing. They cross a bridge that was above a creek and enter a residential area - or that's what Kaede assumes since the buildings look more modest in their designs, they seem like quaint wooden huts. Stopping at a dark blue one, Typhlosion puts Kaede down and opens the door; there is no lock on it.

_Do they not have burglaries?_

Typhlosion ushers them into a sparse room, it had a few stools around a table and a cabinet at the back wall next to a glassless window. There are archways on both sides of the room: the left leads to the study, right leads to the bedroom. He heads to the right, saying he'll set up dinner after putting Shuichi in his bed. She jumps up on one of the stools and waits for a short while; he comes back and sets up dinner with the food from the cabinet. She didn't realize how hungry she was till she saw the colorful assortment and wastes no time chowing down. Typhlosion wasn't even half way done when she finished eating. He slightly laughs to himself, "Didn't know I was feedin' a munchlax." She has no idea what that means, but considering his laugh, "That was a joke, right? He seemed offended, possibly thinking that she was making fun of his humor.

He practically growled, "Ya wanna sleep outside?"

She shrinks, "N-no…"

_Actually, where am I sleeping?_

It's not like she had anywhere to go back to. Before she could panic, Typhlosion stated, "If you're done, you can sleep in the room, bed's ready for ya." She blinked for a moment –or at least whatever the skitty equivalent of blinking was- and asked if it was really alright to stay here, not wanting to impose, he responds, "Not like ya got anywhere else ta stay, 'specially if ya say you're like him." He gestures towards the room Shuichi is in, the conversation they had on the wagon didn't go ignored. She thanks him and heads to that room.

In the room she sees that there are only three stacks of hay: one that is occupied, another that is bigger and more worn, and one that looks fresher. She assumes the last one is hers. She is hesitant, thinking that there's no way this is going to be comfortable, but she removes her bag and jumps onto the newer one regardless. It's surprisingly soft, she drifts away.


	4. Moving

**Author's Note: **Bah! There were a bunch of errors in this one. If I remember right, I wrote this around the time my capstone exhibition was due, so I wasn't in the right mindset. Hopefully it's all fixed now, but my eyesight is poor so who knows .;

I was a bit late with the upload, been playing a lot of Sims 3 lol.

-O-

**Chapter 4: Moving**

Kaede awakens to a new day, the early light shines through the lone window. Sleeping on a mound of hay proved to be very refreshing. Her vision clears as she awakens and stretches. Shuichi is still sleeping, his head hanging towards the floor while his hat is still affixed to him, unaffected by gravity.

_Is it glued on?_

It doesn't seem like he'll be waking up any time soon so she hops out of the hay stack and walks out to the dining area. She sees Typhlosion eating his breakfast, though to her it makes it seem like he's been there all night. She cheerfully greets him, and he waves and continues to nibble at his food. She jumps up on the same stool she sat on last night after seeing that her breakfast was prepared along with Shuichi's. It looks the same as the dinner except smaller, out of gratitude she ignores it and eats.

He finished his meal and spoke, "I can give ya your reward now, if ya want." She looks up from her plate and asks him what he means, unaware of what he's referring to. He elaborates, "Ya completed my request. It stands to reason that I give ya a reward for it." Realization appears on her face, he gets off the stool and goes into the study; she can hear the shuffling of papers and the squeaking of hinges before he walks back out.

He places a small bag and a pink ribbon next to the bowl she was eating from. The bag sounded like it had change in it; the ribbon had black lines with some kind of symbols on it. There's something comforting about these symbols, but once again she is not sure why. She pushes down these thoughts as Typhlosion explains, "There's 5,000 Poke in there," he points to the bag, "and the ribbon… honestly I ain't sure what it does, but I now it's supposed ta be useful in mystery dungeons. I figured ya might get betta use from it than I could."

She wonders how she's going to put on the ribbon, considering her lack of fingers, but she gives it a shot. Somehow she's able to grab it; even as she picks it up and ties it to the end of her tail she's still uncertain on how she was able to do it. She wags her tail a little to check if it's secure, and notices a familiar black fluff in the distance.

"Good morning!" Kaede said to Shuichi as he shuffled over to his own seat, tiredly returning the greeting.

"As excited as ever," Typhlosion said plainly, "if you're still tired, ya can go back ta sleep." Concern for his wellbeing is evident in his tone, hidden under a layer of his default harshness.

"I'll be fine." Shuichi says between large bites.

Not wanting to wait any longer, Typhlosion asks, "So what exactly happened? Why'd ya run off like that? And why the hell didja pay those Kecleons to keep quiet?" He bombards him, expecting him to give full detail. Shuichi sighs, "About that," he collects his self, "I was given an envelope a week ago by an odd pokemon, a Lurantis. I didn't know why they were giving it to me - to be honest I still don't know why - but when they gave it to me they said 'don't open it until you're alone.' I thought that was weird, but I didn't see much harm in doing it." Another pause, but this time it seemed he might have realized something, he kept it to himself for now and continued, "When I opened it that night, it had said something like 'we have the light to your memories, go to this location,' which at first I thought was really creepy, but I couldn't help but think that maybe this was my only chance..." Typhlosion interrupted for a moment to ask if he still had the letter, Shuichi shook his head, "Actually… I tore it up; I didn't want anyone finding it, which brings me to the next part. I had gone to the Kecleon Shop to get some stuff for the trip after I… um, lied to you, but I had a feeling they would say where I was going if you asked them about it, so I paid them not to say anything about it. I didn't want to worry you, and I didn't think I would get trapped like that…" he trails off.

"You're a dumbass," Typhlosion states plainly. Shuichi is taken aback, but can do nothing but agree; his actions were careless. The room is silent for a moment until he asks, "So, did ya get'em? Your memories?"

Shuichi only looked down, that was the answer, "It was all for nothing…"

Kaede couldn't let that slide, "No it wasn't, you got to see who did it. Maybe… we could find him and…ask him…" she lost confidence mid-sentence, some of it out of knowing that he wouldn't give a straight answer, but most of it out of not wanting to ever see him again. Shuichi showed to share the same sentiments as he gently declined the suggestion. "Well… we'll think of something!" she declared, trying to put her paws up in some sort of gesture. He seemed to lighten up.

"Who was he?" Typhlosion asked in a tone she wasn't familiar with, but Shuichi seemed to know it well, "He was a Zorua, and he called himself Kokichi Ouma." He left out the self-proclaimed title he gave himself, seeing as that was probably another lie. The taller one pondered for a moment before admitting, "Never heard that kinda name before. We'll need ta send a report."

-O-

It's bright outside, no clouds to obstruct the sun. They all were walking back to the Market Works Scouting Branch, upon Typhlosion's insistence. It was important to warn others about this threat before anyone else gets caught up in their schemes, plus it was his job. Kaede wanted clarification on what exactly this job was, considering she was dropped into it without much information, and Shuichi gave a brief explanation of what he understood of it. This branch was specifically for gathering information in order to send out accurate details about the locations of vaguely requested missions.

Shuichi noticed the increase of posters on the board outside the building, "Did something happen?"

Typhlosion responded that he didn't know, "I might have ta tell'em about this as well, the three of us can't handle this alone."

Kaede caught that, "I don't work here though." She had been tossed onto a case yesterday – which she assumed was temporary and only for the sake of convenience. It was a successful mission, but that didn't make her feel any more qualified to be looking for others.

"I hired you yesterday," he stated as they enter the building. He immediately went behind the desk and flipped through a small booklet.

"Um, Akamatsu-san," Shuichi started after she had hopped onto the chair that faces the desk, "you don't have to work here if you don't want to." Typhlosion would refute if he wasn't busy looking through the contacts. It is true however, she could leave, but she felt that it would be a good idea to stick around, especially considering they were both amnesiacs with no plans.

_Actually, he might have one. He has been working here, after all._

"No, it's fine really. Besides, you probably have a better plan than I do. Concerning our memory problem, that is." He looks away, his hat hiding his face, he seems a bit pale.

_Am I wrong?_

Before she could question him, Typhlosion tells them both to be quiet for a moment as he operates a phone-like object. After a few moments, he begins reporting to the other side while periodically pausing to listen and scribble down some notes.

He suddenly stops his mark-making and looks slightly agitated, his tone to the recipient changes, "What do ya mean ya can't do it?!" The two sitting across from him couldn't hear the response, but it still felt worrisome. The conversation continued shortly afterward, his agitation slowly switching to disappointment, until he reluctantly hung up.

They really wanted to ask, but were unsure how to broach it. Fortunately, they did not have to wait long for him to explain the situation, "They're a mess over there, and the incident rate has increased for some reason, now they're short on hands." He leans back, "They were even gonna call us directly 'stead of the usual mail, and ask me ta send someone over ASAP."

Shuichi didn't understand why, "We don't do the kind of work they do over there though, right?"

Typhlosion expressed his confusion; their work was not as labor intensive as the guild's, but if they were trying to pull help from other branches it couldn't be anything good. He also couldn't deny the request since the guild had higher authority over him. There lies a problem, "I can't leave this place unattended, nor can I leave unofficial members to look after it."

Kaede didn't see the problem, "We could keep watch while you're gone," not that she knew how to do that since had only been around for a day. Typhlosion declined the offer, "I haven't taught either of ya how to handle the paperwork yet, 'sides neither of ya are official." The confusion was evident on both of their faces, "But, didn't you register us before making us work?" She remembered how he signed a document, saying she worked here, before handing her the mission. He paled, "That… I only wrote reminders ta myself ta get ya both registered; I didn't think there'd be a rush. Also I didn't know how long either of ya would be stayin', thought ya'd run off sooner or later." It almost seemed like he had a history of not being able to keep employees, neither of them could think of a way to ask him about it.

Typhlosion leans over, arms on the desk, "I'm sendin' both of ya ta do it, and before ya say anythin', I already told'em I was sendin' you two over ta get registered anyway. I'll buy ya a map and everythin'."

Shuichi still wasn't on board with the idea, "I'm not sure I could handle something like that, I've never even been in a mystery dungeon." He may have scouted a few times in the past, but that did not mean that he entered the dungeons he found, nor did he ever had to fight anyone else. Typhlosion understood his trepidation, "We both know ya can't stay here forever, they might know somethin' ya don't 'bout your memories. Honestly, I was gonna send ya off someday once I found another employee ta take ya," he gestured to Kaede, "it wasn't easy since most people don't want ta do this kinda work, they want the more glamorous side." She had to wonder if part of it was because of the manager's abrasive attitude, but she kept that to herself, he continued, "Kids like yaselfs should be more adventurous, anyway." He smiled to himself.

Shuichi was still against it, but he knew that Typhlosion had a point, he wouldn't find answers if he only stayed here. However, the last time he went after a clue he had come to a nearly fatal impasse, most of it being his own fault, "I don't want to screw it up again…" he admitted quietly. Typhlosion leaned back in his chair, "Yeah, that's always a possibility, but it's not like you'll be alone this time."

Kaede turned to Shuichi to confirm the larger pokemon's words, "That's right! We're in this together." He glanced over at her; she couldn't read his expression due to his hat and all the fur, it was a moment until he lifted his head and nodded, "A-Alright." His tone held slightly more conviction than before.

Being true to his word, Typhlosion stepped out to buy supplies for their journey, leaving the two of them alone in the building. It contradicted his point of not being able to leave the place unsupervised, but it wasn't as much of a problem if it's a short trip rather than a days-long journey. Shuichi started talking before there was a chance to get quiet, "B-before I forget, Akamatsu-san, there was something I realized earlier, when I was making my report, though I don't know if it's really that important, but…" Kaede interrupted his self-doubt, "Just say it, Saihara-kun, anything would be helpful right now."

"Um, when that Lurantis –er, Ouma-kun - gave me the envelope with the letter directly, it didn't make sense at the time since he could have just addressed it to me and place it in the mailbox or something. He didn't have to go through the trouble of giving it to me directly, but looking back on it now, I think he wanted me to see him." Kaede didn't understand what the motive could be for wanting himself to be seen, "Why do you think he would do that?" Shuichi hummed in thought, "I don't know, he seems like the type of person who just wants to mess with people. That could be all there is to it." She didn't disagree, but there had to be more to it than that considering how he knew about Shuichi's amnesia.

"He could be like us…" Shuichi thought aloud.

She was about to concur until she realized, "But then how would he give us back our memories?" Then she remembered what that deviant was good at, "Or, I guess he was lying about that…"

_But why? There was no need to do all of that, we could have just worked together._

She mentally shook herself, finding it hard to believe that it was possible to work with someone like that, but even so it didn't sit well to just abandon someone who was in the same predicament as her.

They were both stumped. Kaede reassured him, there was plenty of time to figure it all out, "It's not like there's a time limit or anything." She was trying to lighten the situation. Shuichi knew this but couldn't help but say, "Please don't jinx us…" She tapped her paw on the wood of the chair she was sitting on, "Knock on wood. There, we should be fine now." He let out a small laugh, she gasped and exclaimed while pointing at him, "So you can smile!" He was flustered, "W-What's that supposed to mean?!"

Typhlosion steps in, only hearing the last part, "Ya two ain't fightin' already, are ya?" He said jokingly. In his arms were an assortment of items that he had bought; he wasted no time putting most of it in Kaede's bag while telling them what they were. Most of it was berries and those bouillon cubes – she now knows they are called pokeblocks- which were in a container, as well as a map that had their destination, a compass, and a small drawstring bag. He said the bag had seeds with special properties to help them whenever they're in a mystery dungeon. Kaede was skeptical that small seeds can really do things like that, but she didn't complain. After that, he goes behind his desk and opens the lower drawer. She could hear the clattering of items as he shuffled through it, she couldn't imagine what kind of stuff could be in there; this world was filled with objects she's never seen before.

He found what he was looking for, a black pin-striped strip of cloth that had some metal pins on it, and walked over to Shuichi, "This was given ta me as a reward for a mission some time ago, it's never been any use ta me though," he leans down and clasps it around Shuichi's neck, "it increases strength, figured ya need it"

Shuichi ignored the jab, as if it happens often, "Thanks."

Once they're all ready, they head out of the building. Typhlosion leads them to a different Dodrio Stop, this one was at the other end of the town near an archway Kaede had not seen before, "The wagon won't take ya far, but it'll save ya the time and energy." He said and then looked at both of them seriously, "Don't go and do anythin' reckless." It almost felt as if he was aiming that more at Shuichi than at the both of them, but Kaede responded, "We'll be on our best behavior, right, Saihara-kun?" The black fluff nodded.

They hopped on, the Dodrio started their run. Typhlosion waved and grew out of sight. What exactly awaited them, she didn't know, but she couldn't help but feel eager for what was ahead.


	5. A Suspicious Detour

**Author's Note:** Mostly some minor rewording, though looking through it kind of annoyed me. Y'all know that old adult swim commercial for Inuyasha where Kagome and Inuyasha are continually calling each other's names? Well that's what it felt like lol. I probably shouldn't be saying that at the start though .;

-O-

**Chapter 5: A Suspicious Detour**

Kaede and Shuichi had broken off from the Market Place Scouting Branch, and had been sent off to the head guild. Neither of them knew what this place would be like or what awaited them there, but that didn't stop Kaede from being excited about it. This could lead them to new clues about their past, after all.

It was midday when they stepped off the wagon, the stop was placed near a clearing that was reminiscent of a camp ground, it was not occupied by everyone however. Shuichi put his head near the ground, causing his hat to slide off revealing a small bag full of coins. He gave some of them to the Dodrio by putting them in the trough that hanged on the side of the cart. It rode off immediately afterward, and Shuichi put his head back into his hat; somehow it managed to stick back on.

_So that's how he does it._

Originally, she wasn't sure how he was able to put his hat on; his arms didn't seem long enough for it. "Something wrong?" He asked her, she didn't realize she had been staring at him through the process. She recovered herself, "Nothing at all."

He didn't seem to mind it too much and proceeded to ask her for the map; she complied and shimmied the bag off, getting the hang of removing it. They laid the map out on the ground once they located it. Kaede wasn't use to reading maps; she didn't really understand what most of the marks meant aside from the 'X' which she assumed was their destination. Shuichi pointed to where they were on the map, "We're here, so if we continue along this path," he dragged his arm along the very thin line, "we'll reach a D ranked dungeon…" he paused for a bit and spoke a little quieter, "It should be fine…"

Kaede interrupted him since she wasn't sure what the rank was in reference to, he said, "It means that there aren't a lot of floors, and the hostiles that are in it aren't very tough… I guess." She was starting to get too use to his tendency to doubt, hopefully he'll gain a little more confidence over the course of the trip.

_I'll make sure of it._

They roll up the map and continue along their path. There was a light breeze, the sky had few clouds; there wasn't much else out there besides the trees and the distant sound of a river. Kaede was enjoying the atmosphere, "There's something freeing about being out here, you know? It's much better than before…" She was lost in her own sentence; she wasn't sure what the last bit was in relation to. The market place and the cave were cramped in their own ways, but they didn't compare to the oppressiveness she felt she had in the past. Shuichi agreed with her, but asked her about the last part, she shook her head and said that she wasn't sure.

"It's annoying honestly." He admitted, looking towards his moving feet. She asked him what he was talking about, he elaborated, "It's like… there's always just a shadow of a memory, it's never anything vivid."

She hummed in agreement, "Yeah, it can get really frustrating, but it's better than nothing. We could have just been thrown into this world without knowing anything. We probably could have lived our whole lives like this." Not that she particularly hated this world and her current form, but she would prefer being back to her normal self.

Shuichi shivered, "That'd be pretty messed up, though I will say I kinda thought this really was my life when I woke up." Kaede hadn't expected that kind of follow up, "What do you mean?"

"I felt like I knew this body, and I could identify most of the pokemon I saw. Even the setting was familiar." The dark type paused while Kaede had begun to ponder this new information; that wasn't the same as how she had woken up, she didn't recognize anything. He asked her if her experience was the same, she told him it wasn't.

They walked in silence the rest of the way, the occasional rustling of the trees being the only break from it. They had been walking for a while, but to them it felt fairly short. The dungeon was coming to view.

It was a dense wall of trees with one opening through it; it was almost unnatural how the trees were lined up against one another. The trees appeared to be a different species compared to the ones they had been walking near. "This is the dungeon, right? It looks pretty dungeon-y, at least." The small cat looked back at him, since she had run up further than him when she had seen the suspicious collection of foliage.

"'Dungeon-y'? Is that really a thing?" Shuichi asked jokingly in an attempt to ignore the sudden coldness running through his body.

Kaede huffed, "Well is it or not?"

He nodded, "T-That's right."

He immediately groaned and hide his face after hearing his voice crack out of nervousness, this definitely didn't go unnoticed by her, "You're not scared, are you?" There was no mockery behind it; it was a genuine question out of concern.

He didn't answer immediately, which caused Kaede to continue, "I don't know what's going to happen from here, but I know you can handle it. Honestly, I get the feeling you've been through a lot worse than this…" Once again, she wasn't sure what she was exactly referring to, but she went on, "So, you definitely can get through this." She put up both of her paws, trying to attempt some kind of arm gesture; it didn't really work the way she wanted it though.

It didn't seem like he was going to respond until he sighed, "I'm not sure about all that but…" he looked up, "If you say then I guess it'll be alright."

They both step in.

Far Forest 1F

The trees that boarder the corridors were the same as the ones from the entrance. Plant life and flowers of various colors speckled the area. They couldn't see the sun as much as when they were outside the dungeon. The stairs were right next to them, they waste no time climbing them while Kaede pointed out how easy that was.

Far Forest 2F

They arrive at a small empty room with two exits, they head south down a long passageway. The stairs were in the room that followed, as well as a sleeping pokemon. They tiptoed around it and proceeded upward. "This isn't so bad. With the way you were acting, I almost thought it'd be way worse." The normal type said once they were out of earshot of the sleeping pokemon.

Far Forest 3F

Once they were in a huge room, Shuichi responded in a mock-accusing tone, "You're really trying to jinx us." He was sounding better than when they first got here. They go to the right while Kaede denies doing such a thing, her voice dying as she sees a pokemon in the distance.

She lightly laughs, "Whoops… Well, maybe they're friendly."

Shuichi sighs saying that that isn't possible and they'll have to fight.

They cautiously approach it, pausing at every step as Kaede had noticed that the enemy only moved when they moved, "That's kinda creepy…" she commented. Shuichi was getting impatient, "Can we just get this over with." She ignored his request and instead yelled out to the other pokemon, "Hey! It's rude to creep on people!" This only agitated the pokemon and caused them to attack.

Treeko used Razor Leaf!

"Woah!" Kaede dodged it quickly, narrowly evading it, "Geez, what was that for?!"

Shuichi had jumped away out of reflex, even though it wasn't aimed at him, and he wasn't pleased with her carelessness, "Quit messing around!"

The optimist was shocked by his outburst, but decided to comply since it was clear that the opposing pokemon wasn't going to listen to reason. They took a few steps closer, making sure to avoid any other attacks the best they could.

Kaede used Tackle!

A critical hit!

Treeko took 56 damage!

Treeko fainted!

"Will they be okay?" Kaede asked after noticing she had attacked harder than she meant to. The dark type wasn't sure, but there wasn't much they could do about it so he suggested they keep going. That was another thing she didn't expect from him, "Never thought you'd suggest a hit n' run."

He seemed to pale at what she could be insinuating, "Sorry, I know it sounds wrong but… I was once told that taking down hostiles isn't too big a deal, it's done all the time." Kaede was hesitant in thinking that something like that was true, but she couldn't find it in herself to believe that Shuichi would be the type of person to make something like that up, she relented and they moved forward. The stairs were at the far end of the room.

Far Forest 4F

The stairs were near them again.

Far forest 5F

They had encountered a few other enemies while trying to find the stairs, which were much harder to find this time. They had to travel around most of the floor to locate them, much to their annoyance.

Far Forest 6F

They had to scour half of the floor this time; however, it was more worthwhile since they had found some berries to take with them. Shuichi had expressed his concern about taking food from the ground, but they didn't appear rotten in any way so taking them was deemed harmless by the other party.

Far Forest 7F

"How far does this place go?" Kaede half-whined, getting flashbacks to the staircase from yesterday that seemed never-ending. Shuichi responded, "It shouldn't be too long now," he paused when he remembered, "I was told once that there's a dungeon that has over a hundred floors…"

Kaede told him to stop before he could unintentionally bring her down, "D-Don't tell me that! And you said not to jinx anything…"

He shakily chuckled, "Ah, sorry."

They eventually reached the medium sized room that contained the stairs and some coins. "Who's just dropping money? Oh well," she proceeded to pick up the money, "it'd be a shame if it was left here."

Shuichi told her there was no need to justify the action, "You make it sound like we're stealing."

She switched gears, "Oh look the stairs. Let's go!" She dashes towards them, almost leaving him behind since he was unprepared for it.

-O-

The sun was going down once they got out, the sky and clouds having a pink hue to it; the light shimmered on the lake's surface. When they were in the dungeon, they didn't even notice time passing that quickly. Kaede was concerned that they might not reach the guild before nightfall at this rate; she turned around seeing him catch up to her, "Saihara-kun, how much farther do we have to go?"

He had caught his breath before requesting to see the map again; he needed to be sure he was accurate about this. They spread out the map, he points to a dot on the map saying that this is where they exited, "So we should be right next to this lake." They look up from the map and see that very lake.

It was a large one; the other side was just a sheer cliff that had evergreens at the top and some thinner trees trying to grow on the face of it. The cliff had an unnatural gap in it where a long suspension bridge was placed, the bridge connected to their side. Kaede pointed over to the distant gap, "That's where we're headed, right?" Shuichi double checked the map and confirmed her guess. After putting the map back in the bag, they wasted no time running over, even though he said that they might not actually make it before night falls.

Once at the bridge, they get a better look at it; it wasn't rickety per se, but it didn't bode well. That could just be Kaede's imagination, "Welp, gentlemen first!" She gestured for Shuichi to go ahead, not at all being surprised when he vehemently declined, "That's not at all how it goes." Kaede wouldn't back down, "C'mon, Saihara-kun, you wouldn't want me tripping over a rotten plank or anything, would you?"

"… No."

"Then it's settled, you lead the way and test it out and I'll follow." Her cheerfulness was almost terrifying.

Shuichi couldn't find it in himself to argue with her so he takes a cautious step onto the first plank, and then continues on in that fashion with every plank, picking up the pace as he found that it was sturdier than it looked. Kaede was not too far behind, making sure to take the exact path he was, not that she could truly mimic his steps. They reach the other side in no time, proving her suspicions about the bridge completely wrong.

The chasm that they were now in looks like it had been chipped away in large chunks in order to create an artificial route that cuts straight through it. It was quite an impressive sight, especially since it didn't seem like the pokemon of this world had any heavy machinery or equipment to make something like this.

They walked forward, their footsteps having a slight echo.

"Hellooooo!" Kaede yelled out suddenly, causing Shuichi to jump, "What are you doing?"

She couldn't believe he was actually asking, "Don't tell me you didn't find it tempting." They walked quietly for a moment until the echo helped him realize, "Oh, you were just messing with the acoustics." His own words bounced off the walls, and Kaede's extra loud 'yeah' joining in and carrying much farther. She was about to quit since she didn't want to annoy him too much, even though she couldn't tell if it really annoyed him to begin with. Instead, she was encouraged when Shuichi joined in, both of them now yelling random things just for the sake of it.

They were having so much fun with their carefree exclamations that they almost didn't notice the third voice that had joined them. They stopped immediately, almost thinking they had imagined it or rather, "I didn't know you could do voices, Saihara-kun" Kaede slipped out a shaky laugh, really hoping that it was just him; he denied it, almost sounding offended, "My voice doesn't go that high."

They stayed quiet, waiting for the voice to appear again. There was no one else they could see in the chasm, which only made them further believe that they just imagined it.

"Yoooohooooo!"

The two look around, still not seeing anyone; that is until Shuichi looked up, Kaede soon following the action. Within the sliver of golden light above, a silhouette of a bird was hovering. It couldn't be identified until it descended directly downward, causing them to jump out of its path, out of reflex and uncertainty. With a beak as long and pointy as that, they definitely didn't want to get impaled.

It landed daintily with its back toward them and seems to ramble a bit to itself in nonsense, as if impressed with itself and the successful landing. Knowing that Shuichi knew more about pokemon than she did, Kaede leaned over to Shuichi and whispered, "What is that?"

However, he returned with, "I honestly don't know… kinda just looks like a fruity woodpecker."

Before they can address it directly, it turns to them, "I was told you two would be here! Praise, Atua!" It raised its wings.

Neither of them knew what it was talking about. Kaede figured it would be best to steer the conversation before they get any more confused, "Who are you?"

It brought its wings to its face, "Ah," then it brought its wing up as if waving, "I'm Angie Yonaga!"

The perplexed two shared a look, both of them getting the same vibe from her. She continued her questioning, "Who exactly is 'Atua'?" Not knowing if that was a name or a pokemon.

Angie was stunned at first but then smiled, "Why, Atua is Atua, of course!" She acted as if that was an exceptional answer, which it wasn't.

"That's not…" Kaede started before Shuichi interrupted her to say that he had a feeling that they weren't going to get a clear answer from her. Considering that, she retried, "Were they looking for us?" It was hard to believe that anyone in this world was searching for them, especially since they didn't belong in it and the guild they were heading to seemed too busy to send for a pick up.

The airy bird replied simply, "No, He had guided me here to respond to your call." They were confused at first since neither of them had done that, until they realized she probably meant their yells earlier. Kaede felt it necessary to explain to her why they were doing that, thinking that she might have misconstrued it as calls for help. Angie corrected her, "He knew that everything was okay, and He also knew that you two would be perfect candidates." She had a strange aura about her, Shuichi asked carefully, "Candidates for what?"

The bird jumped with joy, "So you will join?"

He quickly corrected her, "That's not what I said."

She ignored him and told them to follow her as she starts flying, making sure not to leave them behind, "It's too bad Atua had not blessed you both with flight, I'll pray that he gifts them to you in the next life!"

That last bit gave them the chills; they knew that she might not have meant it like that –or at least hoped that she didn't - but saying it like that sounded like a threat. Regardless, they follow her, not that there was any other direction to go in the chasm anyway.

Shuichi asked Kaede in the quietest voice possible, not wanting to have his voice echo to where Angie could hear, if it was really okay to be going along with this, especially since they were technically on a mission. She said that it should be fine since they weren't going to make it to the guild before night time; also if things got too sketchy they could bail.

Once they made it to the other side, they saw hills of grassy plains that stretched far into the mountains in the background. There were some trees and wildflowers that peppered the fields. "Everything is so pretty out here!" Kaede said after noticing the pattern of beautiful sights, though some of that could have been emphasized by the glow of the setting sun.

"Bless Atua for the inspiring sight!" Angie began directing them to the north-west of the large expanse; a simple task for her, more intensive for them.

She had led them to a worn patch of land that was hidden past one of the hills, next to a rocky stream. It was similar to the campsite they had seen earlier on their journey, except this time there was a yellow tent present and a semi-prepared fire pit. Angie invited them to take a seat and informed them that there were two friends with her; she wasn't sure why they weren't here at the moment, "I'll go get them!"

After she hurriedly flew off, Shuichi took a seat near the fire pit while Kaede wandered, "Nothing seems off," she noted, seeing that it really did just look like a camp out and not some strange cult thing.

"I guess." He was curious about whether the tent could contain something that could suggest otherwise, but he chose not to inspect it out of courtesy. She, however, showed not to have such sentiments when she lifted part of the tent's front flap.

"Don't do that!" He warned in a near-hiss, causing her to back away reflexively.

The curious cat hadn't really been thinking when she did it, "Sorry." After a brief moment she realized that he wasn't doing any investigating, "Aren't you curious, too?"

He hummed, "I am, but you shouldn't just snoop on strangers, even if they are suspicious."

That didn't make sense, "Shouldn't them being suspicious be even more of a reason to snoop?" Before he could answer, she suddenly thought of why he couldn't search strangers, "Oh, you need a warrant, don't you?"

That would be true if they were back in their past lives, "Search warrants aren't a thing in this society - at least as far as I can tell…" The denizens of this world may have laws, but they weren't that intensive.

A familiar call is heard; stopping their discussion and making them look in the direction it was coming from, which was from the other side of the stream. Angie was successful in retrieving her friends: an orange bird, and a black bird. Kaede walked over to Shuichi to ask him what pokemon those two were, this time he knew they were a Combusken and a Murkrow respectively.

They skipped across the rocks of the stream to get to the campground while Angie flew from above, happily chatting away. The Combusken was carrying some wood, which didn't add to the difficulty of their jumps. The Murkrow followed behind casually, not seeming to be in any sort of rush; it was quite slow actually. The wood carrier looked behind itself once it had crossed the stream to check on the black bird that was lagging behind, calling out in a much louder tone than it needed to, "Do you need Tenko's help, Yumeno-san?!"

'Yumeno-san' didn't seem to mind it and replied calmly, "Stuff like this is easy when you're a mage." It punctuated by jumping to the next rock. Angie was circling overhead, "Why not just fly? Atua gave you flight for a reason!" It laughed gleefully. The other rejected the notion as it was unnecessary for this simple of a task.

The trio stepped over to the two newcomers and excitedly introduced themselves –well one was excited, the other didn't say much, "The name's Tenko Chabashira," she then held her arms out to present her companion, dropping all the wood in the process, "and this here's the great mage, Himiko Yumeno!"

Himiko tipped the plumage of her head, "You dropped all the wood…"

Tenko was shocked, just now noticing what she did and hurriedly regathered the wood and put it in the soon-to-be lit fire pit.

"It's nice to meet you both! I'm Kaede Akamatsu." Kaede chimed, as friendly as ever, trying to ignore the very familiar sense she's getting. She's gotten it so often that she has a fairly good idea at what it could mean, not that she can really do anything about it right now, much to her disappointment. Shuichi seemed lost in thought, possibly noticing the same thing. She nudged him with her tail to give a response, "Huh? Oh, nice to meet you, I'm Shuichi Saihara."

Tenko gave him glare and took a defensive stance, "Is that the sound of a _men_ace?" They both gave confused looks, nothing about either of their interactions were menacing.

Shuichi parroted her phrase, "'_Men_ace'?"

"It is! Tenko sees through your trick, _men_ace."

Considering the way she was emphasizing the word, he figures out that it's meant to be discriminatory. It took a while for him to catch it since this world didn't seem to have sexism either.

Before Tenko can go and unjustifiably surplux him into the ground, Kaede spoke, "There is no trick, though. He doesn't do those kinds of things; in fact he's totally harmless, couldn't hurt a fly even if he wanted to!" She didn't want the situation to needlessly escalate over something like this, plus it was true. Shuichi would refute that claim, but out of also not wanting to get injured, he kept quiet; it's not like he had any proof against it anyway.

The fiery-fighter was hesitant, but let him off with a warning, mostly because Himiko interrupted them so the fire can be started already. Angie had gone into the tent some time ago, her humming resounding from inside. Kaede asked what she was doing in there, after Tenko had started the fire she answered that she had no idea since the strange leader typically does a lot of unusual things.

Of course Kaede's interest is piqued, "What kind of stuff?"

Himiko was holding her wings out toward the fire as she recounted, "Earlier today she had us mash some berries with our feet and-"

"L-Let's not talk about that time, Yumeno-san," Tenko said sternly.

That just made Kaede even more interested, "Wait, what'd she do?!"

Neither replied since Angie had just stepped out of the tent, pushing a full pot, "Atua has decided that we will have stew." She placed a rack on top of the fire then had Tenko place the pot on it. Shuichi had caught a glimpse of the pots contents, surprising him that there weren't any berries in it. He was glad for this since it had been a long time since he had any normal food, "How long 'til it's done?" The aroma just made him hungrier than he realized.

"Hmm… Soon." Another unsatisfactory answer, the dark type hangs his head.

"Tenko has been wondering, why did you bring these two here? Not that Tenko minds it but…" She seemed to be at a loss for words, but Angie answered, "Atua heard their call and told Angie to get them since they would make great additions to our group."

This seemed like as good a time as any to hopefully get a clear idea of what she means, so Kaede asks, "So what exactly is this group?"

"We are Atua Disciples, we explore the land in His name," Angie replied wistfully. Tenko quickly corrected her, "Actually that isn't our official team name; we're just explorers in search of answers."

"Answers to what?" If the sensations she's been having since she met them were right, then they might be in a similar situation as Shuichi and her.

Instead of answering the question, Angie said that she wasn't allowed to know, "You must become a member for us to tell you."

Kaede couldn't agree to that since she already had prior engagements, also deals like that were always sketchy.

Shuichi found a flaw in her deal, "Aren't explorers only allowed to have four in a group?" He had heard from Typhlosion that explorers mostly go in threes or fours. Though there could be an exception that he's probably never heard about.

Tenko made a weird face, "Easy fix, we just won't include him."

He couldn't think of a response to that. Even though the comment was made out of discrimination, he didn't have much of an argument for himself since he wasn't much of an adventurer.

"Now Tenko, they are both welcome to join… as long as they accept Atua," Angie had said the last part quickly, which had caught Himiko's attention, "Nyeh? I never accepted Atua…"

The bigger beaked bird protested, "Of course you did! That's why we formed this group."

Tenko disagreed, "That's not what happened, we- " Angie had cut her off before she disclosed any important information.

The two of them were going to continue bickering, but Kaede say a moment to interrupt them, "We'll have to decline the offer, we still have our own tasks after all." It seemed like the group had some unresolved issues which would be best not to get involved with for long term. Tenko had misinterpreted her reasoning for declining, "You're not holding back because of the _men_ace, are you?"

Kaede rejected the theory immediately, "Of course not!" Honestly she was almost starting to get offended for him, "I'm not just going to abandon a friend."

Before Tenko can press any further, Angie accepts their rejection, "Atua understands. I'll get more reward points this way, anyway!" She looks over the pot, "Ah, the stew's ready!" Then she retreated to the tent to retrieve some bowls, later having Tenko serve them all since she was the only one that could really grasp the ladle.

They all ate to the best of their ability; it was more of a challenge to eat stew than it should be. Fortunately, there's no need to clean dirt and there was a stream right near them to clean themselves with. Shuichi had to dunk his head into it since he overestimated his chomping abilities, "I was so careful, looked like a damn idiot…" he mumbled to himself, proceeding to shake the water off his self then putting his hat back on. He soon heard a dragging noise that was getting closer to him, slowly turning his head around to see what it could be. Turns out it was just Himiko dragging a net full of dirty dishes, much to his relief.

"Need any help?" He asked, not seeing how she could possibly clean them. She declined the offer, "I can handle this with my magic," She then kicked the net into the stream and had it catch onto one of the rocks, "See?"

That didn't seem like magic at all, "Is it really okay to leave it like that?"

She tipped her faux hat, "Don't doubt my power."

An apology was all he could think of giving before starting his trek back to the site; he stopped when he heard her say, "Don't let Tenko get to you… she gets like that when she meets new people… er, with new men, at least…"

He thought it over for a moment, it's not that it didn't bother him, but, "I didn't take it personally, I've dealt with this kind of thing before," not knowing exactly when or where he's experienced it. Himiko seemed pleased with this response and said that she would go back shortly after the dishes were cleaned. He nodded and went first.

Upon his return, he saw that Tenko and Angie had picked up with their minor argument about why their group was formed, not noticing his return. He could tell that Kaede noticed because he heard her giggle at him, he tried to hide himself behind his hat, "Please forget about it…" he pleaded. She tried to suppress it and apologize, but mostly failed. Honestly at this point he was trying not to join in on laughing at his expense and maintain his ground.

The other two noticed the new amount of noise, their own noise dying out as they found that they were just going in circles. Tenko decided to ask about how the sleeping arrangement was going to be, not wanting a certain person to get any impure ideas. Kaede argued in his defense at first until she had a thought, "Is something like that even possible like this?"

The forbidden question that no one would dare to answer – except for Kaede, "Oh wait, they need to reproduce somehow-"

"A-Akamatsu-san, please," Shuichi really didn't want to know, continuing that line of thought wasn't going to help his case either, "I'm not going to do anything other than sleep, but I'll keep my distance if it's really a problem."

Kaede assured him that it wasn't a big deal especially since they had already slept in the same room once before. He almost didn't know what she was taking about until he remembered that there was an extra hay pile in Typhlosion's room. Tenko was shocked beyond belief and accused him, "Y-You got her to do such indecent things!"

Shuichi immediately denied it, shaking his head rapidly, "No, no! Nothing like that!"

Kaede stepped in to support his claim, "He was asleep the whole time."

Tenko had yielded as if unsure what to make of that, she then continued, "Well, if that's so, then he's probably incapable…"

The dark type didn't know how to take that, but for the sake of wanting to end this conversation and never speak of it again, he conveniently agreed, "Y-Yeah… so nothing to worry about."

After that was settled, they started setting out the bedding outside around the dying fire. The beds weren't as fluffy as the one's back at Typhlosion's place, but that was to be expected. Himiko joined them after the last pile was set, giving Angie the net of clean dishes to put away in the tent. She poked her head out and told everyone good night before ducking back in. Kaede then noticed how they only set up four piles, "Does she always sleep in the tent?"

"It varies." Tenko answered simply as she sat down on her bed, which was purposely built away from Shuichi's just in case. The others went to their respective beds, Himiko sleeping immediately and Tenko commenting on how adorable she was. Kaede found it adorable that she was commenting that she was adorable. Shuichi was just trying to go to sleep and forget the last few minutes of his life and ignore how dark it had gotten.

Soon all was silent on the plains as slumber overtook them.


	6. Harmony

**Author's Note: **I keep losing track of the days x.x They all look the same to me, each being as uneventful as the next XD I'm not depressed lol.

-O-

**Chapter 6: Harmony**

A sliver of light had crept at the edge of the plains, slowly illuminating the rolls of hills and the campsite that Kaede, Shuichi, and their new acquaintances were sleeping at.

The small cat awoke to the sound of something rustling. She stretched before opening her eyes as best as any Skitty could. All but one of the beds still contained their occupants, the Combusken stood next to her vacant bed while doing some exercises.

"Good morning, Tenko," sleep still threaded Kaede's voice, though she wasn't exactly tired, "what time is it?"

The recipient returned the greeting, but was unable to come up with an answer other than, "It's morning, of course! Though for me, it's Tenko's jogging time. Unless you want to join." Kaede declined the offer, not wanting to exhaust herself before the day even started. Tenko darted off shortly after.

"Nyaha! So much energy!" Angie had popped out of her tent, acting as if she didn't have as much energy as the runner. Kaede was startled at first, not expecting spontaneity in the morning, she greeted her regardless.

"Ah, bless Atua, you're awake!" The way she said that gave her an ominous feeling again, there shouldn't be a reason to phrase it like that, "Um, did something happen?"

Angie denied it, "Nothing at all! The harvest can only take place tomorrow night anyway. " The ignorant cat shivered and asked cautiously, "H-Harvest?"

"I was only joking, nyahaha!"

Kaede could only sit in silence, but a second later Shuichi had lifted his head and looked around a bit. Noticing his awakening and wanting to step away from the conversation, Kaede greeted him. He only looked in her direction for a moment before dropping his head back down, "Saihara-kun?!"

Angie clicked her tongue, "Dark types are never morning people."

Kaede asked what she meant at the risk of hearing something cryptic again, getting a question in response, "He is a dark type, no?"

She shook her head, telling her that she wouldn't know that, and that she was not aware of all the specifics of this world. Angie moved her wings above herself, "Atua says he is, without a doubt!" It feels more like she's just making an assumption rather than contacting a higher power, but she doesn't mention that.

Shuichi lifts himself off the bed, more successful than his last attempt, and lazily asked, "Does that really matter?" For all he knew, he was always this bad at waking up.

"Well, Himiko is still asleep." Angie stated plainly, as if it proves her point indefinitely. They look toward where Himiko is scrunched up, she's completely unfazed. Kaede pointed out that she even went to sleep first.

"Atua says that she requires lots of sleep because of her magic," she hummed.

Kaede turned toward Shuichi, seeing that he looked more awake than earlier, "So how much further do we have to travel?"

He thought for a moment, "I think we just have to pass over those mountains… " he looked out in the distance, "I'll need to check." She nodded and reached over her bed to get her bag that contained the map. Angie chimed in while doing a sort of bird hop towards them, "Where are you two going?"

The map was spread out on the ground between the two hay piles, Kaede responded as Shuichi looked over the map, "To the guild."

Angie seemed disappointed, "So you're really not joining us then?"

"'fraid not." She replied simply, trying to sound a tad remorseful for it.

Angie meditated and nodded, "Atua understands."

Shuichi finished looking over it, "Just over those mountains there's another dungeon, same rank as the last…" If that's the case, there shouldn't be much to worry about. Angie even confirms it, saying that her group had come from there yesterday, "We had Atua's protection, though. You'll be in my prayers."

He wasn't sure if there was something more to her words, "O-Okay…"

They put the map back in the bag while Angie went back into the tent to bring out some berries for breakfast. Tenko had come back from her run, not looking at all exhausted dispite the inclined area.

Once Himiko woke up, the four of them packed the bedding away in a large drawstring bag. Angie came back out with a large bowl filled with some berries, and told them to take their fill.

"Are you sure you'll be okay out there? Not that Tenko doubts your defensive capabilities, but you don't have the most dependable companion." She was addressing Kaede after being told that she and Shuichi were heading off soon. Kaede was almost about to oppose that point, but she remembered that she did essentially say that he was weak the other day so she instead said, "I'll be fine, and I kinda over exaggerated his weakness. I mean I've seen him melt metal before, so it'll all be alright."

"Huh?! He can do that? That's way too dangerous!" Tenko said, ignoring the fact that she can be too. Himiko, however, actually acknowledged it, "But, Tenko, you use fire magic… that's pretty dangerous…" The larger bird was unable to argue with her.

-O-

Kaede and Shuichi finished their quick meal and said their goodbyes to the trio; departing to the mountains and continuing their quest. The clouds' shadows were rolling across the field's hills almost as if they were chasing after the two.

They walked in silence for a few paces until Kaede broke it, "So… do you think they were like us? Something about them just screamed suspicious, you know." From their names to their actions, it just seemed too familiar to her. Shuichi didn't answer immediately and looked towards the ground, "I'm not too sure, but I think I get what you mean. It would explain it…" It seemed like he wanted to add something else to the theory, but he was rejecting the notion. She persisted, "Did you notice something?"

"Whenever a pokemon introduces their self, they usually address their self by their species or an abbreviation of it. But the ones we've met so far had full names like we do, it might be more than coincidence." During his time working with Typhlosion, he never saw anyone else that had a name like his; he considered it odd, but didn't think it meant much until now.

The cat nodded, "Alright that makes things easier!"

"How so?" Just because that's how it's been so far, doesn't mean that it would always be like that. She reasoned, "If people like us have full names, then they should be easy to find among those with the species name. One of them's bound to know something about our past lives." That last part might be true, but, "How many of them are out there?"

She hummed in thought, unable to find an answer. So far they have met four people that seemed like them, including themselves that made six. For all they know, they're the only ones or there could be hundreds of others out there, "There's no telling… we could have met the last ones." If that was the case, they could always look for a different way.

He misinterpreted that as regret and said quietly, "…You could go with them if you want." He really didn't want to hold her back from anything.

Kaede rejected the notion adamantly, "We're in this together, after all." The other team wasn't too bad, albeit its stability was questionable, but she couldn't imagine searching for the answers with anyone else.

She stops, the wind blows gently at the top of the hill they were on. Shuichi stops after a few steps and looks back at her, "What's wrong?"

She wasn't quite sure herself, a mix of nostalgia and dread filled her. Was it always like this, "Have we done this before…" she said quietly to herself.

Thinking that she was asking him, he replied uncertainly, "I don't think so?" His memory may be ruined, but it didn't seem likely they were in a situation where they turned into creatures with powers and had amnesia anytime in the past. The odds just didn't seem likely.

She silenced his line of thought, "Are you sure we've never worked together?"

Only the ambiance of the hills persisted. This was the second time Shuichi wasn't on the same track, but honestly he hadn't even considered that as a possibility. If that was the case, "What were we doing?" Not that he really expected a clear answer, but he needed to check if she remembered that much.

She responded with a simple yet saddened, "Dunno."

They continued their trek to the mountain, mauling over the new possibility.

-O-

Once at the edge of the mountain range, they went towards the slope that was the path to the mystery dungeon. The slope itself was between two smaller mountains and led to a third one that was taller and lighter in color. When they approached the dungeon's entrance, they could feel a chill emanating from it.

"It goes right through the mountain, after that it should be a straight shot to the guild," Shuichi informed, "Are you ready?"

Even though she was typically shown to be ready for anything so far, he still wanted to make sure.

"I was going to ask you that," Kaede thought he was going to be a nervous wreck, but he seems more composed this time, "but, yeah. Let's go!"

They step in.

Frost Cave 1F

They both shivered. The short-furred cat tried to find her voice, "H-How is it-t so cold?" The original chill that wafted from the cave didn't feel as cold as it did now. The dragon type began to take shaky steps to the west, "D-Dunno; let's j-just hurry." Hopefully they'll warm up along the way.

Frost Cave 2F

An enemy was right beside Kaede when they reached the floor, which startled her.

Kaede used Tackle!

Snorunt took 26 damage!

"Oh, Sorry!" She really didn't mean to do that, but the Snorunt didn't listen and attacked out of anger.

Snorunt used Icy Wind!

Kaede took 17 damage!

Kaede is frozen solid!

"Akamatsu-san!?" She didn't respond or move. The Snorunt was ready to attack again, but since it was Shuichi's turn he took the opportunity.

Shuichi used Dragon Rage!

It's not very effective.

Snorunt took 40 damage!

Snorunt fainted!

Kaede is frozen solid!

He wasn't sure what to do; all he could do was pace around her and hope to find a way to free her.

Kaede is frozen solid!

Kaede is frozen solid!

Kaede broke free!

She was ready to attack but quickly realized the enemy was defeated and that she was much colder than before. Shuichi was very relieved, "Are you okay?!"

She shook herself, "Mor-re or less, let's keep going." They continued to the east and found the stairs in the next room after going down the long walkway.

Frost Cave 3F

There were some apples on the ground in most of the rooms they entered, "Guess the cold keeps them fresh, huh?" Kaede said in an ironic attempt to forget about the cold,

Shuichi only hummed a response as he was eating another one of the apples; they were pretty good.

She reprimanded him, "Hey! Save some for later."

"Ah, sorry!"

Frost Cave 4F

They went up the north corridor, only to find two enemies blocking the way. Kaede wasted no time attacking since she didn't want to risk getting frozen again.

Kaede used Disarming Voice!

It's not very effective.

Sandshrew(A) took 34 damage!

Sandshrew(A) used Metal Claw!

Kaede took 25 damage!

Cute Charm caused Infatuation!

"Huh? Why's it acting weird?" It acted more docile than when they started fighting, it made her hesitant on continuing the assault since it didn't feel right to attack someone who wasn't going to fight back. The pokemon behind it however had no qualms with continuing.

Piplup used Bubble Beam!

Kaede took 16 damage!

Shuichi asked if she wanted him to attack the Sandshrew since it seemed like she was against the idea, but she agreed to it, her reason being, "The attitude doesn't seem natural."

Shuichi Dragon Breath!

It's not very effective.

Sandshrew(A) took 26 damage!

Sandshrew(A) fainted!

Kaede walked past the newly fainted pokemon in order to attack the Piplup once it was her turn, Shuichi remained where he was.

Piplup used Peck!

Kaede took 19 damage!

Shuichi used Dragon Breath!

Piplup took 48 damage!

He noticed that she was exhausted, but she moved quicker than he could say anything.

Kaede used Double Slap!

Piplup took 16 damage!

Piplup took 20 damage!

Piplup fainted!

"You shouldn't be so reckless…" He said as he stepped next to her, they begin to walk in the direction they were meaning to go. "Sorry, I just thought I could finish it quickly. It all worked out, didn't it?"

He only shook his head and sighed.

Frost Cave 5F

She recovered the remaining bits of her health as they walked, fortunately not encountering enemies while she was low.

Frost Cave 6F

"Is it-t getting c-colder to you?" Shuichi stuttered. Kaede hadn't been too bothered by the cold anymore since the fights proved to be a decent exercise, "Not really, no." It sounded like he was freezing though, "You wanna huddle for warmth?"

"Huh!?" Of course he was shocked by her suggestion, causing her to giggle, "I was only joking."

He felt foolish for even thinking that she was being serious, "R-Right…"

Frost Cave 7F

Finally, the stairs were right next to them. That's much better than having an enemy there.

Frost Cave 8F

"That map didn't mention how many floors there are, did it?" Kaede asked as they walked from room to room, picking up a few Pecha Berries. Shuichi shook his head, "It only said where the exit and entrance was, there was nothing about floors."

They entered the room with the stairs and as they neared it a Snorunt entered, it took the long-distance opportunity.

Snorunt used Powder Snow!

Kaede took 24 damage!

Shuichi took 49 damage!

It was super effective!

"Damn..." Was all Shuichi could utter, that move was unexpectedly powerful. Kaede could tell that it affected him more than it did her. Since the attack could reach them no matter where they were, she wanted to take caution. The stairs were only two steps from them.

"Saihara-kun, do you think you can take another hit?" There may be a chance that it won't use the move again, but she needed to be sure.

He uttered, "…Maybe."

She nods and says they should head to the stairs, he agrees to it even though he doubts he'll make it.

They move one step and the Snorunt does the same. They take another and both the stairs and the Snorunt are right next to Kaede. At this moment, it seemed smarter to just attack the enemy before it could attack them.

Kaede used Disarming Voice!

Snorunt took 32 damage!

Shuichi used Dragon Rage!

Snorunt took 40 damage!

Snorunt fainted!

They hurry up the stairs.

Frost Cave 9F

"That was way too close," Shuichi lamented, his heart can't take it. Kaede's habit of looking on the bright side kicks in, "We still made it out in one piece, at least."

"We're still in the cave…" There could be more floors to risk his neck on. She huffed, "You know that's not what I meant."

They walk to the south which led to the stair room.

-O-

The sun was at its highest by the time they exited, warming them from the chill of the cave. The exit was right in front of a suspension bridge that hung over a ravine, Kaede looked over to Shuichi with an expectant look. He reprised his task of testing the bridge.

At the other side of the bridge, there was a natural path that swerved between the various jutting parts of the mountains. There were some shrubs and thin trees growing from the cracks.

"It's just past here, right?" The small cat skips down the path out of anticipation, not really waiting for his answer. Shuichi confirmed it anyway, while walking at a brisk pace.

"I can't wait!" She exclaims while practically hopping. There may be no guarantee that they'll find anything about their past there, but having already gone this far she can't help but feel excited at the very possibility.

They breeze through the path, mostly at Kaede's insistence, and eventually reach another chasm that was slightly wider. Another difference was the presence of windows on the walls and a few colorful buildings, some of them similar to the ones of the Market Place. After crossing the bridge, which was much sturdier looking in comparison to the others, they can see a plaza with some pokemon hanging around and having idle chatter. None of them seemed to acknowledge their presence, including the one that was at the end of the bridge, which they assumed was a guard.

They didn't have to look around long until they saw a much bigger and more outlandish building that was built within the crevice of the mountains; they climb up the large stairs since it seemed like their destination.

The large entrance to the building was open, they stepped into the flattened and slightly mossy area only to see a long desk with only one pokemon behind it.

"What's your business?" The pink and spiny puff called after glancing away from the papers it was holding, and then doing a double take as it fully saw who they were, "Are you the two we were expecting?" It leaned over the desk to get a better look.

"Yes?" Kaede said, unsure if they really were the ones it was referencing. As they saunter over, it perked with glee, "Oh good! We almost thought you've gotten lost, but I guess going the back way does take longer. They really need to do something about that, no wonder things take so long," it seemed like it was starting to ramble until Kaede subtly interrupted it, fortunately causing it to continue, "Anyway, let me escort you to the head master, he's very eager to see you."

As the pokemon was making its way from behind the desk, Shuichi asked, "Is it really okay to be leaving the desk unattended?" It doesn't seem right to leave a front desk while anyone can walk into the place. It reassured once it was in front of said desk, "It's fine, it won't take too long."

It leads them up the stairs that were to the left of it. At the second floor the pokemon, which introduced itself as Clefable, informed them that this floor was where missions were collected and organized, as well as where explorer information was kept. At the third floor was the contact center which maintained wireless communications, which seemed like a weird way to say phone operator room, but considering that the things that act as phones don't look as such, it was understandable. They finally reach the fourth floor, a hallway with four doors on the sides and one door all the way at the end. Clefable knocks on the fifth door and they hear a voice from the inside telling them to come in.

Clefable enters first and informs the pokemon occupying the room that the two recruits have arrive, it tells her to hurry and usher them in. She complies and then excuses herself to return to the front.

There were some colorful tapestries hanging on the walls above the bookcases, and some carpeting to match. There was also a window behind where the pokemon was seated, even though this place seemed to be dug into a mountain.

The large, orange, canine-like pokemon got up from its spot and stepped over to them and happily said, "I'm glad to see you both made it safely, I hear that going the back way is much more difficult, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be too hard," it wagged its tail, "Typhlosion spoke quite highly of your abilities."

Both of them were confused since neither of them recalled Typhlosion speaking anything about them. "When did he do that?" Kaede asked.

"Yesterday," it said simply, "he said he had just sent you off, and that you two would be a great help to us. That being said," it walked over to the bookcase near the window and took a container from it, then placed it in front of them, "I prepared this for you." It started jumping with glee, "Open it! Open it!" If the floors were thinner, they would probably be shaking.

"Yeah, open it, Saihara-kun!" Kaede joined in on the guild master's joy.

"Um, alright." He wasn't sure why he needed to be the one to do it, but he didn't see any harm in it, so he pressed the button and it popped open. Inside was an assortment of items; the canine explained, "Inside are the badges that every explorer must carry as well as some useful items that'll help you in dungeons."

Kaede took one of the badges, "So we're official explorers?" She didn't fully know what that entailed, but it sounded like it would make their personal quest easier if they had access to the things that only officials did. The canine confirmed it but added that they need to register their identity and team name.

Shuichi couldn't believe it was that easy, "Is there no test or anything?" It tilted its head, "Well yes, but considering the path you took to get here I'd say that's good enough of a test." It then smirked mischievously, "unless you really want to take the gruesome trials."

The black fluff shook his head, not wanting to go through anything that was described as 'gruesome,' "N-No, I'm good."

"Thank you very much for this, um…" she didn't know how it wanted to be addressed.

It looked shocked, "Oh! I didn't properly introduce myself, I just got so caught up in the moment that I forgot," it lightly laughed, "I'm the guild master, Arcanine, though you can just call me Cane. No need for formalities, they're too stiff for my liking."

She re-thanked him while Shuichi grabbed his own badge from the container, trying to clip it on the strip of cloth around his neck. It clashed with the pins that were already there with its roundness. Kaede took the rest of the contents from the container and put it in her bag, which was getting full.

"Let's go get you both registered!" Cane said as he made his way to the door, expecting them to follow him.

The group went down to the second floor; it looked like a maze of drawers and cubbies and there were some pokemon shuffling the files around. Cane led them to the back where a separate room was, inside that room was a computer-like object that covered the back wall. On the side were some smaller monitors lined up along with some stools in front of them; he directed them to sit there after he fiddled with the motherboard. Two of the monitors glowed with the view of an application. "It might be a pain, but it's best to keep this kinda stuff organized." Cane justified. A pokemon from the other room peeked in and asked for his assistance, he agreed and said that they should fill out the forms while he's gone and that he'll be back soon.

Upon closer inspection, the application asked for specifics such as age, height, and name, as well as their species information. The normal sections were easy to fill, but Kaede was mostly stumped on some parts of the pokemon section. She knew she was a Skitty and a normal type, but she had no idea what her 'ability' was or her 'level.' To gain a hint, she leaned over to Shuichi and whispered, "What did you get for number 14?"

This caused him to snort slightly, "This isn't a test, Akamatsu-san."

She rolled her eyes, "I mean how do you know your ability?"

"I just do?" He never truly knew how he knew this kind of information, especially since no one told him about it at any point in time. "I might know what yours is…" It felt obvious considering what happened in Frost Cave, she asked him to divulge it which he did, "Cute Charm."

She laughed, "I didn't know you had it in you to flirt," there's no way an ability was called something like that.

He shook his head violently, "T-That's what it's called! I swear!"

She hummed in disbelief, "If you say so," and then entered it in. Out of curiosity she asked what his ability was since this seemed like important information to share, he answered, "Hustle." Now it just sounded like he was making this up, he denied making anything up since there would be no reason to.

"So what do I put for 'level,' then?" Kaede asked, sadly he was at a loss too since there was no way to tell something like that. Shuichi explained that it worked similarly to experience gain in video games which makes it tough to know without some display.

Cane returned just in time, "Have you finished the forms?"

She tells him that they're stuck since they don't know their levels.

"Whoops, I should've told you how to," he walks to the monitor and points to the smaller bit that protrudes from the bottom, it looked reminiscent of a touch screen, "If you place your paws here, it should tell you your current level. It changes over time, of course, but it's good to know where you started."

They both touched the small screens; Kaede and Shuichi shared the same level of 18. "A long way to go," Cane commented wistfully before heading for the larger computer. Once they confirmed their applications, it was processed into the database. "Now all you need is a team name," his tail wagging, "this is the fun part; it's also the most important part. Choose wisely!"

"…What if we haven't considered one?" Shuichi hesitantly asked, they've never discussed it and if it's really that important they probably shouldn't just say whatever. Cane tilted his head, "Well we could wait I guess, but it'd be easier to do it now."

"No need, we have a name." Kaede stated confidently. Shuichi had no idea what she was talking about, "We do?"

She nodded, "Harmony."

"'Harmony'…" He repeated, not having any clue where she got that from. Cane was already eagerly putting it into the computer, "Very good choice!" He'll have to remember to ask her about it later.

Cane pressed a few buttons on the computer which caused a deep tray with some slots to pop out of the base, "Hmm… hold on a moment," he left the room for a moment and returned with the pokemon that had called for him earlier, he asked it to place their badges into the tray for them since none of them had the dexterity to do so, "This will engrave your badges with your name and footprint, won't take long."

Kaede was about to ask why the footprint mattered, but then she thought that it might be their version of a fingerprint. Following his word, the machine reopened the tray after a short while; the assistant redistributed the badges to them and took their leave. "We should get going too, I'll show you around the town, too!" Cane gleefully said as he almost left them behind again.

-O-

The sun was somewhat lower than before and some clouds had gathered, but not enough to look like a storm. The three of them climbed down the stairs, though for Cane it was only a few hops down; he went towards the small building across from the stairs and waited for them.

Kaede couldn't help but be envious of Cane's ability to just breeze past these miniature cliffs, "Maybe I should jump like that too," she fantasized.

Shuichi couldn't imagine that ending well, "Please don't."

Once they made it past the obstacle, they got to where guild master was standing. He jumped right into explaining, "This is Spinda's Café, you can recycle a bunch of items here, they also have some good drinks." Then he trotted deeper into town, leading them to a row of open buildings that seemed more like shacks, the shacks themselves look like there owners. He quickly explained that each one functioned as a bank, storage area, and item shop, "All very useful to explorers such as yourselves!" He ran off again.

"Does he really need to go that fast?" Kaede complained out of exhaustion, but tried to keep pace anyway. They headed left from the stands, ending at a wooden building, "This is the dojo," Cane looked around a bit, "aw, he's not here. Guess he's gone with his new protégé on an errand. That kid reminds me of you two, you might like him."

They were both tempted to ask what he meant by that, but it probably wasn't anything substantial to their goal. He continued with his fast-paced tour.

The sun was nearing the horizon when they reached a large wooden complex that was slightly pressed into the mountain face. To get there, they had to go the opposite way of the dojo, passing the stands and the front entrance. Cane told them that that gate had guards since it was frequently used by people who came from the mainland, much unlike the back entrance. As for the large wooden complex, it's the housing area of explorers that are stationed here, "They can stay as long as they want as long as they're working in this region," he headed inside, "I'll show you to your room."

Even though it was a housing complex, there wasn't a lot of pokemon around the area, "They've been busy with all the new tasks, hopefully we can resolve it soon."

Shuichi needed to know, "Is there really a way to fix this problem?" They were essentially sent here to help with the problem, but they don't even know how to handle it, or what exactly it is.

"Dunno!" Cane said bluntly, "But I'm sure there's a way!"

They climbed up to the third floor and went down the hall to a door that had a plaque next to it that had '5Z' etched into it. They entered to find a small dining/lounging area, to the right there was a door to the bedroom which was about the same size as the room prior. Cane warned them, "Don't forget which room you're staying in, it's quite embarrassing to sleep in someone else's bed!" It almost sounded like he spoke from experience, they weren't touching that.

Shuichi caught a glimpse of the outside through the window; it seemed off, "It is spring, right?"

Cane and Kaede looked at him quizzically. Cane answered, "Yes, why?"

"It got dark pretty fast, we couldn't have been out that long." He noticed how fast the sun had been setting these past few days, he just assumed it was because he was busy for once so it made it appear that time was moving quicker, but now it seemed too abnormal.

Cane took a dismayed tone, "It's been like that lately, day and night have been changing too irregularly. A lot of folks are finding it unsettling."

Kaede wondered, "Is it related to the increase?"

Cane nodded, "That's the theory going around now, we've been trying to figure it out for the past month," he regained his chipper tone, "But we might have some leads now, which is part of why the two of you were summoned."

Shuichi questions again, "Why us specifically? I mean there had to be others that were more experienced in this kind of thing." That part had always bothered him, there had to be other branches with more manpower than the Scouting Branch.

The usually chipper canine took a glum appearance, "There wasn't much choice, explorers have been going missing too."

This was a shock, so far it hadn't appeared like explorers would get into trouble like that. Though they were mostly basing that on the trio they met on the plains. "Having explorers rescue each other made us short on hands in helping with the larger problem."

"What are we gonna do?" Kaede asked in order to get details on a course of action. Cane made his way to the door, "Today you rest, we'll give you your first official job at the guild in the morning." He left as quick as always.

"He says that, but I'm not really tired." Kaede said. Shuichi felt the same but he understood why he did that, "It's no good to travel when it's dark… though if I had to guess it's only about four o'clock."

She groaned, "So we just sit here then?" Sitting around always felt like a waste of time, but they didn't have any leads on their own case.

There wasn't much he can think of that they can do right now, until he remembers what he wanted to inquire about, "Why did you call our team 'Harmony'?"

She looked as if the answer should have been obvious, "Well isn't it?"

He was starting to feel bad, "I don't get it… sorry."

She insisted that he think about it some more, confident of his ability to infer.

Near-silence permeated the room as the detective tapped his foot in thought, until he made a guess, "It's about how we work together, right?"

She nodded happily, "Exactly, in perfect harmony."

There was something warming about that sentiment. It was also better than one of his assumptions, "I thought it was just a music reference, but when you say it like that, it makes more sense."

"Why would you think that?" Though it didn't seem far out there that she would make music references, but she wasn't sure how he would guess that. He pointed towards her tail, "Aren't those music notes on your ribbon?"

She looked at said ribbon, "…Yeah."

_So that's what they are._

When she first saw them, she wasn't exactly sure what they were supposed to be, all she knew was that they were comforting. "Do you know anything about music?" She feels like she's supposed to be the one to know about this kind of thing, but she really can't remember.

_Not that that's new._

"Not really, I think in the past I didn't even know how to play an instrument." Shuichi didn't feel like he would be talented enough for something like that.

"That's too bad." She said as melancholy tinged her voice.

He replied, "Is it?" It didn't seem like that big of a deal, so he didn't understand the sad tone.

She had mindlessly said the last part, but deep down she meant it, "Yeah."

"Did you know how to play one?" He wasn't expecting her to be able to answer it since the past was vague for them, but considering the way she was acting it seemed like she would know.

After reflecting for a moment she uncertainly said, "I feel like I have," she paused and thought about how he tended to have information that she didn't, and while putting faith in probability she asked, "Do you know what a 'pianist' is?" It had been a while since she was able to think about that, she almost forgot about it in the wake of all the tasks she got involved with.

"You played piano?" It was a question that sounded more like a statement.

Her eyes would widen if they could, she hasn't heard of such a lovely thing in a long time, "Yes!" That came out louder than she intended, causing him to jump slightly, "Ah, I see."

He assumes that she just figured that out because of her volume, it didn't come as much of a surprise since large chunks of their lives were missing and also, "I don't think I've seen any instruments like that around here…" Even in such a place as big as the Market Place, there was nothing resembling complex instruments that required the amount of dexterity that a piano did.

"It really is a whole different world…" She lamented, suddenly feeling drained from knowing that she'll never hear that sound any time soon.

Shuichi noticed her shift in tone and started to worry that his pessimistic tendencies were rubbing off on her, "Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it." She looked at him and shook her head, recovering from her somber state, "No, it's fine. This just means we're one step closer to finding ourselves." It was good to see that this didn't faze her too much.

-O-

Not wanting to sit around waiting for an appropriate time to rest, they decided to head out and look around some more since Cane rushed through the tour. Plus they'll need to eat soon and there was no food in the room they were assigned.

As they were walking past the gate, Kaede could hear the guards interrogating someone who was trying to enter. She didn't mean to eavesdrop but she couldn't exactly turn her ears off, though she might have slowed down a little.

"…heard nothing about that…"

"He said to come here… they'd be here…"

"…lying… -ster hasn't left…"

Shuichi noticed that she was falling behind then turned to her, "Akamatsu-san?" Then he looked over to where her line of sight fell, "We probably shouldn't get involved with that." It would be best to stay out of trouble while they were living here; she seemed to agree as she began to turn away from it.

"Wait, is that them?!"

That startled them, causing them to look back at the pokemon at the gate to find the source of the shout. They saw the pokemon that was being questioned hold its long claws above its eyes, as if to get a better look. The two stood still for a moment and glanced around, just to make sure that the pokemon was really referring to them. There were no others around; Kaede was tempted to decline its assumption from where she stood until the taller of the two guards told them to come closer. Not getting involved was now impossible.

They walked over quietly as to not escalate the situation; the clawed pokemon with the red zig-zag stripe on its stomach was affirming his assumption to be correct to the guards as it got a better look at them. The tall blue guard asked in a stern voice, "Do you know this pokemon?"

Of course they didn't so Kaede responded with, "Not at all."

The pokemon in question protested, "Yes you do, he even said you knew!" Though its voice was loud, it was not exactly aggressive.

"Who?" Shuichi simply asked since he couldn't fathom who could possibly know their whereabouts, Typhlosion excluded considering he had no need to divulge their location to anyone.

It replied as if the answer was obvious, "Cane did."

The shorter red guard spoke matter-of-factly, "Which is impossible since he hasn't left in days."

It ignored the guard, "Anyway, he told me that there were two creatures that looked a lot like you guys and that you would know about me."

The pink 'creature' shook her head, "I don't see how we could possibly know you if we never met you."

"Well you had to of at least heard of me, right?" It said confidently, before she could answer, it continued with vigor, "I'm Kaito Momota, um… something of the other," he lost confidence midway, but that didn't stop him from claiming, "Okay, I don't completely remember, but I know you know me."

That familiar vibe appeared again and there was no doubt between them.

The blue guard seemed to be growing tired of the Kaito's rhetoric, "They said they don't kno-"

"Oh, I just remembered, yeah, we differently seen him before," Kaede lied to the best of her ability, "we were just so busy that we kinda forgot, isn't that right, Saihara-kun?"

"Uh, yeah that's right." He caught on quickly as to what she was trying to do.

The guards didn't seem to be buying it at first, causing the others to worry, but the red guard sighed, "People forget important things all the time, I suppose."

"What's that supposed to mean," the other guard sounded offended, "are you still on my faux pas from yesterday? I'll have you know it was a very honest mistake!"

The shorter one shrugged, "If you say so."

"Can I go now?" Kaito interrupted. The guards relented and allowed him to pass through the gate.

-O-

"I knew you guys had to know!" Kaito said triumphantly as the three of them were walking away from the guards and their banter. Kaede corrected him and admitted, "Can't say I really 'know' anything, it was more of just a feeling."

He raised a fist, "I hear ya. Hey, can we get something to eat first; there wasn't a lot to eat on the way here. I promise I'll tell everything." Considering that she and Shuichi were going to get food to begin with, it wasn't a hard request to fulfill, plus any clues to the past would be a great bonus.

"Where exactly are we eating?" Shuichi asked, neither of them had a chance to discuss what was for dinner and the problem of them not being able to prepare any complex dishes due to their limited knowledge on cooking and dexterity – he was assuming that Kaede didn't really know how to cook either, he was never led to believe otherwise.

She suggested that they walk around for a while and check if the buildings that Cane didn't introduce had prepared food that was more filling than berries and shakes.

Upon their search, the group finds that most of the places are supplies shops except for one that was much larger than the rest. "Wow, how did we miss this?" She said aloud but mostly to herself, the building even had a sign that clearly stated that it was an eatery. Shuichi attempted to rationalize it, "It is pretty far from where Cane guided us…" Kaito gave a different perspective, "As long as we found it, it's all good."

They agreed and headed in.

There wasn't a lot of business inside the predominantly purple dining area, only about three tables were occupied out of the few dozen. Instead of going for a table, they go to sit on the stools at the front counter; it was mainly Kaito who led them there, "Gotta show that you mean business."

"It's not like we need to force them or anything…" Shuichi said with a trace of uncertainty as he sat down, the new acquaintance may be familiar but that doesn't automatically mean they are morally sound. He replied plainly, "Yeah, I know. I just want food to come quicker." They looked up at the menu boards as they waited.

Eventually, a pokemon emerged from the kitchen and greeted them, "What would'ya all like?"

Kaede and Shuichi ordered the most regular looking foods while Kaito ordered the special because of how exotic it sounded. It disappeared back into the kitchen to prepare their order.

Kaede broached the subject, "So what exactly happened, how did you know about us?"

He took a moment before answering since he was fiddling with utensils, "Well, it all took place just yesterday. I was walking around by the beach when some giant orange beast came outta nowhere - of course I could've taken it on if it tried to fight me, no sweat," he had put his fists together at that last part, causing the silverware tepee to collapse, and then he continued, "anyway, he introduced himself as 'Cane' then showed me two drawings that looked like you guys - they were pretty detailed actually, I'm surprised something with big paws could draw something like that. He told me that I should find you two if I wanted to know anything about the past."

"…And you just went with it?" Shuichi asked, even though he had done something similar a while ago and could understand the desperation. However, he figured that most other people wouldn't carelessly follow the instructions of someone else like he did.

Kaito raised a fist in determination, "Of course! I'm not gonna pass up an opportunity like that just 'cause it was suspicious."

Shuichi could only shake his head with how ridiculous that sounded.

"Besides," Kaito continued, "I had a feeling I could trust it and its plan."

"What plan?" Kaede questioned, unable to guess what someone like Cane could possibly scheme – or if said scheme was benign. He replied, "It only said that I needed to wait for when I'm called, whatever that's supposed to mean."

She didn't know what that could mean either, but the answer is close, "We could ask Cane about it later."

They all agreed and later ate their food once it was delivered to them. Even though they wanted to hurry and find Cane as soon as possible, enjoying the good food together was too nice of a time to rush through.


	7. Imposter

**Author's Note: **Looks like this is a short one. RIP.

-O-

**Chapter 7: Imposter**

The trio comprised of Kaede, Kaito, and Shuichi enjoyed their time together as they ate their dinner amidst light conversation. The tall clawed one that was carrying most of the conversation with great fervor; during his ramblings, Shuichi had felt it necessary to clarify to him and Kaede that he is a Zangoose and not 'some angry cat thing.'

"Ya know, when I woke up, I had no idea what I was. I've never really seen creatures like this, but this form ain't half bad. I feel way better than I did before." Kaito seemed to reminisce, but most likely he wasn't sure as to what he was referencing. The other two didn't ask him to elaborate since the odds of him knowing the details were unlikely.

Shuichi, who had just finished his dish, was mildly curious, "How long ago was it since you've woken up?"

Kaito had put a hand to his chin, making sure he didn't scratch himself, and thought, "About a month I think; time's been kinda wonky lately, so who's to say."

That was a bit later than when the detective had awakened yet much earlier than when Kaede did. He only responded with a contemplative, "I see…"

"Do you think it means anything?" Kaede wondered since she couldn't think of how it could possibly be related to their situation, but knowing Shuichi, he's probably figured it out. However he shook his head and said, "I can't say for sure, yet."

After all the plates were cleaned of their food, the three paid for their meal and headed to the guild. When they exited the building, the street lamps –or torches- were being lit by one fire type and the sky was completely dark, save for the few stars. Coincidentally, that fire type happened to be Cane; he noticed the group just after lighting the last lamp, "Ah, you made a new friend?"

Kaede affirms this, "You did send him to us after all."

Cane tilted his head in confusion, "I don't recall doing that," he stepped closer to get a better look at the person in question, "I've never even seen them before."

"You've forgotten me already!?" Kaito exclaimed in shock, a tad bit overdramatic, "C'mon, you went out of your way to track me down, you have to remember." He had a point, but Cane insisted that he has never seen him before, and that he also hasn't left this area in the past few weeks. It didn't seem like he was lying, but Kaito still protested since he knew for sure that it was him that showed up at the beach.

The argument didn't seem to be going anywhere, until Shuichi hesitantly suggested, "What if it wasn't him?" It had already been proven before that there were pokemon that have the ability to mimic others, Kaito wasn't aware of this fact since he said, "It has to be him! Same name, same face, same everything…" his confidence faltered at the last bit, "Okay, I guess his vibe's a little different, but for sure everything else is the same."

"'Vibe'?" Kaede parroted, hoping that he would elaborate on what he meant. He attempted just that, "Yeah, he just doesn't seem as… creepy."

Cane chimed in, "Like I could ever be creepy, I'm as cute as a button!"

They would all sweat-drop if they could.

An imposter with a creepy vibe, an all too familiar concept that both Kaede and Shuichi had encountered. However, it didn't seem likely it would be the same person that they were thinking; even if it was, then for what purpose? There just wasn't enough information to figure that out, but there was enough to say that it was definitely not Cane that visited Kaito.

Kaede decided to explain that to them in the hopes that it might clear up the situation, "He's too busy maintaining this area to leave, plus I think I heard the guards saying that 'master hasn't left.'" Some parts of the interrogation couldn't be heard from where she was previously, even with her sensitive hearing, but that is what it sounded like they were saying. Her assumption was confirmed by Kaito, "Yeah, they did say that, but maybe they didn't see him leave. How else could I have seen him?"

"Would guards really miss something like that?" Shuichi asked rhetorically, "And it's not like there's only one Arcanine in existence, there could have been another pretending to be him." Though it seemed more likely that this was Kokichi's doing, it would just complicate things further if they had to explain the possibility of a mischievous shape-shifter whose goals are incredibly unclear.

"They did a pretty good job acting like me, perhaps too good." Cane trailed off, turning to leave. Kaito called out, "Hey! Where you goin'?" He was already hopping away and did not answer the question, but considering his direction he was probably going to the guild.

"He just can't stay still, can he?" Kaede absently said before turning to Kaito, "So what are you going to do now?" If she was remembering correctly from their conversion at dinner, his only reason for coming here was because he was led to believe there was a lead to getting his memories back, a common lie that Kokichi likes to spread it seems. By the way he was talking, he was probably headed for somewhere else before he was intercepted by the faux Cane. This theory was confirmed when Kaito replied, "I'll probably leave tomorrow; I promised someone I'd meet up with them after I found you guys."

Kaede decides to jokingly ask, "And you're sure it's not another doppelganger, right?"

"Of course!" Kaito huffed in full confidence, "I don't think anyone can imitate someone like her."

Shuichi couldn't hold back his curiosity, mostly out of the chance that the person he's referring to may also be related to their past, "Who exactly is this person?"

"She calls herself Fletchinder, but I don't think that's it," he paused for a moment and shook his head, "well, I'm sure she has her reasons."

Shuichi expressed his concern, "Is it really okay to meet up with someone you barely know?" Not that there was anything wrong with wanting to maintain some anonymity, it's just that this world has proven to have some peculiar and sometimes dangerous characters. Kaito retorted, "Why wouldn't it? I mean, we can't really get anywhere without trusting some people, ya know?" It seems like he missed the point that Shuichi was trying to get at, but he couldn't find it in himself to argue with something like that without sounding hypocritical; he has trusted a few strangers himself with varying levels of hospitality and hostility.

"So anyway," Kaito began to change the subject, "you guys wouldn't happen to know a good place to sleep, would ya?" The addressed ones both sweat dropped and Kaede seemed disappointed in him, "You didn't plan ahead?"

He slinked back, "Um, well, it was sorta last minute…"

Out of generosity, and sort of thanks for some of the information, she offered to stay at their residence. It didn't seem like there were any rules against having visitors stay over, and it was only for one night. He accepted the offer, and the three began to walk back to the residence while making sure to buy some food for the morning along the way. They took note of the time that was displayed on the side of the stone walkway, it was 8:23 pm; it didn't even feel like they were out for that long, time seems to travel a lot faster in this world regardless of what's being done.

-O-

"Kinda small…" Kaito pointed out as they all walked into their apartment. Kaede agreed, "It's not like we'll spend a lot of time in here anyway."

Shuichi wasn't too sure about that, they may have a mission tomorrow, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be stuck coming back to this place out of the inability of finding any solutions. Instead of expressing his doubts, he went to get the beds ready, hopefully having enough for three; Kaito joined him since it seemed right to help out.

By the time Kaede had put away the newly bought food and took off here bag, the other two had quickly finished their task, though Shuichi looked more exhausted than when he started while Kaito practically beamed. She heard their murmurs but didn't pay much attention to them since the task of putting things away on the shelves was harder than it should have been; she had to know, "What were you two talking about?" She'd be lying if she denied that she mostly wanted to poke fun at them.

"Nothin'," Kaito said simply with a smile plastered on his face, he nudge Shuichi, "ain't that right, Shuichi?" He gave a tired "R-Right…"

It was very evident on Kaede's face that she was disappointed by their answer. Kaito was instead the one to poke fun this time, "Sad to not get any juicy gossip?"

Of course Kaede denied that, even though it was slightly true. Shuichi shook his head at them, "I'd hardly call it gossip."

After some minutes of light pestering, mainly from Kaede, the three of them headed to bed. Kaito was the first to sleep, causing a mildly loud snore to be heard throughout the room. Seeing as neither of them could sleep at the moment, Shuichi whisper-talked from his bed, "Akamatsu-san, do you really think we won't be here long?" She looked over to him, or tried to considering how dark it was, "Of course, I'm pretty sure we'll be out on missions a lot."

He sighed and reworded to what he really wanted to say, "I mean, do you think we won't be in this world for long, that we'll get our true forms soon?" He didn't dislike this world, but he was tired of living in the dark and feeling out of place.

She didn't answer him immediately, since she didn't truly know the answer, but looking on the bad side wouldn't do them any good, "I can't say I know, but I'm sure there's a way. Like, if there's a way to get us like this in the first place, then there's got to be a way to reverse it, right?"

He hummed in thought and quietly agreed.

Despite the snoring, exhaustion from today's events overtook them, leaving some of their worries behind.


	8. The Adventure Continues

**Author's Note: **This chapter was originally made after a hiatus I had, which is why it seems more like a summary. I can't outright delete it though, so I'll just make this a double upload day.

-O-

**Chapter 8: The Adventure Continues**

Team Harmony has already made contact with five people that share their dilemma -well only two of them are confirmed, the three others are mostly suspected of it. How many more could there be? What would meeting all of them accomplish? So far, the ones they've met were about as lost as they were, excluding Kokichi. Why does he seem to know more than everyone else? And what exactly is he trying to accomplish with that knowledge? There were too many questions that needed to be answered, but it was too early in the morning to figure it all out.

Kaede was the first to wake up –or at least that's what she thought until she noticed that the bed Kaito was sleeping in was empty save for a piece of paper with some sloppy writing on it. She decided to read it over silently, since Shuichi was still asleep.

From what she can extrapolate from the poor scribbles, the note says: "Sorry I had to leave before you guys woke up… was kind of impatient… thanks for letting me stay, I'll pay you back when we meet again, it's a promise. –Kaito" He must be an extremely early riser to have woken up before Kaede, or maybe her sleep schedule was off.

She left the note where it was, since she figured Shuichi would see it when he wakes up, and went into the dining area to eat some of the food they bought yesterday for breakfast. After eating the light meal, she decided to wake Shuichi up herself, partly because she was getting antsy and wanted to know what to today's mission was already. The way Cane put it, it made it seem like it would be beneficial to their overall quest.

However, just as she hopped off her seat the building felt as if it was swaying. She thought that she was imagining it until the entire room started to shake; it ended quicker than she had time to react to it. Even though it didn't seem like any damage was done, Kaede hurried to the bedroom to check on Shuichi; to her surprise, he was still asleep. She ran up to him and started to try shaking him awake, at first getting the mumbled response of 'I don't wanna go to school' before he slightly rolled over to have his back facing her.

"Sorry about this but…" Kaede prepared herself to attack, holding back on the power and expecting some amount of backlash from him.

Kaede used Tackle!

Shuichi woke up!

"Buh!" He exclaimed, being pushed out of his bed. After scrambling to get to his feet, he shouted at his attacker, "What was that for!?"

That was to be expected, but to sleep through an earthquake, "Did you not feel it?" Kaede asked. This just made him more confused, "I felt the pain in my back…"

Kaede shook her head, "Sorry, but you're a really heavy sleeper if you slept through the earthquake." At least he's awake now, "C'mon, we have a mission today."

Shuichi looked towards where Kaito had slept, noticing that it was empty, "Did he leave already?" Kaede confirmed it.

They began to walk towards the kitchen when Shuichi asked, "What time is it, anyway?" He was still fairly tired, but that could've been due to the snoring more than the possible earliness. She said that she didn't know, but it couldn't possibly be that late in the day. Even though the sun seemed to be fairly high in the sky, that wasn't a good indication of time anymore considering what they were told yesterday.

-O-

After Shuichi finished his breakfast, they both went to the guild to see Cane. Kaede was practically running to their destination, enthusiastic as ever. He was taking his time, and also noting the time on the street's clock; it was 10:27 AM.

Once they entered the guild, they were greeted by Clefable and were told that Cane was expecting them on the second floor. They thanked her and proceeded upstairs; upon entering the data collection room, they were approached by a yellow creature that held up a spoon for some reason, the same one that helped Cane and them in the back room yesterday. In a deep voice it told them that the guild master was in the same room where they had their badges registered, and warned them to not touch anything. They complied and hurried to their destination.

"Oh good, you're here!" Cane said excitedly once they were in his line of sight, "I was almost about to come fetch you two," not wanting to dawdle any longer, he turned to the larger screen at the back of the room which had some images of places on it, "as you know, the day and night cycle has been out of whack recently and we've been trying to figure out the cause before things get out of hand." He draws their attention to the screen, "We've narrowed down potential dungeons that might lead us to the true cause, though we are only basing it off of folklore we've heard about the areas…"

There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary in the images, they seemed to be regular caves: a desert, a beach alcove, and… is that a volcano? It would have looked like a regular mountain face if it wasn't for that one stream of red on the side. However, the fourth image caught Team Harmony's eyes, mostly because of the flatness of the entrance, as if it was a giant stone tablet. It was reminiscent of the one they've seen all those days ago, just before they met.

"We're sending out teams to explore these places –or at least when they're free. But, since you two are ready to go, you get first pick!" Cane wagged his tail happily and waited for their choice. Both Kaede and Shuichi seemed to be on the same page as they nodded to each other and request for the fourth location. Cane was slightly surprised, "And here I thought I would have to explain all the areas in detail, sure saves me the trouble –and the time." He pressed some keys and filled in some information on the screen. Once filled, he asked if they had a map that he could mark; Kaede handed over the old one.

-O-

They wasted no time in setting out on their journey, exiting from the northern gate that the two guards from yesterday oversaw. The guards seemed like they were bickering about something else, but once the new explorers got close they immediately stopped and saluted as the two passed, only to resume after a short while.

"Should guards really act like that?" Kaede asked once out of earshot. Arguing with each other looks like it would be a distraction from their duties.

Shuichi shook his head, "Probably not, but it's not like there's a lot of bad pokemon out there anyway." Not including Kokichi, since he probably isn't a part of this world either. Kaede looked surprised, "But aren't there burglaries and stuff like that?" He replied, "Well yeah, but I mean there aren't incredibly terrible pokemon. You know, like uh…" he had to think back for a moment, "murderers…" During his time with Typhlosion, the worse he has ever come across was petty theft; he's never heard of anyone doing anything more horrible, not through the news nor the grape vine.

Kaede looked down as she walked, slightly solemn, offering a neutral, "I see…"

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked in a concerned tone.

She shook her head her head profusely, "No! Not at all," after collecting herself she continued, "I was just thinking that it's kind of relieving to hear that…"

He couldn't agree more.


	9. Deeper

**Author's Note:** I keep forgetting about this version lol, but I have started working on the later chapters though, so I guess that's something.

**Chapter 9: Deeper**

Finally on their first official mission, Team Harmony has set forth northward to the dungeon of their choosing, one that appeared as if it would contain something important to the abnormal day and night cycle. Though, where does that leave their main objective; could the anomaly be related to their problem?

"Cane did say this mission would help us, right?" Kaede asked as she tried to hop up the rocks that were naturally stacked in a stairs-like order. According to their map, this path would lead to a town contained within the mountains; which was only a few paces away from the dungeon. These steep paths were very exhausting for the short legged team.

"I think he was just saying that so we'd agree to help him out." Shuichi said as he carefully climbed, making sure he had good footing.

She disagreed, "He doesn't seem like someone who'd trick people like that." When she reached a platform-like rock, she turned around and saw he was lagging behind, "It's not going to crumble, Saihara-kun."

He jumped up to a different rock, "You don't know that, and I don't think Cane could know if anything is related to our problem." That seemed to be true since so far only pokemon with full names have potentially been related to their past.

Kaede continued upward when Shuichi quickened his pace. As they traveled upwards, they both started to notice the change in the mountains air; it was almost as if it was growing stagnant. An uneasy feeling began to well up in them, and it was not settled when they reached the top.

They were greeted to – not a town like the map indicated- but to a large, deep-black crater. There was nothing else in sight; anything that was here was incinerated, all that remained was melted rock.

Kaede was the first to speak, "What… what happened here?"

Shuichi, of course, had no idea and was about as dumbfounded as she was. The only thing he could tell was that the crater was made fairly recently since there was some faint heat still emanating from it. "Nothing about this looks natural…" he remarked.

While looking out into the distance, to where the crater ended, Kaede solemnly asked, "Could anyone have survived this?" She knew that there could have been no conceivable way to survive something like this, but deep down she would like to think that it was somehow possible.

He knew the answer, but instead said, "I don't know."

-O-

They walked along the edge of the crater for a long while until they found the same stone tablet that was in the picture Cane showed them. Somehow it managed to survive whatever it was that destroyed this area. Among its strange markings, there was an etching that looked recent and out of place; a plus sign and a teardrop. Shuichi couldn't help but get a bad feeling from those marks considering that those same marks were on the entrance to the place he was trapped in days ago. Also, from what he could remember, these etchings weren't in the photo.

"Are you ready?" Kaede's voice snaps him out of his thoughts, he nods. They proceed past the tall rectangular entrance and into a dimly lit hallway; the walls of which are very smooth. The only light present being Kaede's flashlight pinned to her bag's strap and the strange yellow crystals that lined the walls; some of which were knocked out of their sockets and their self-luminescence seemed to fade the deeper they went. Shuichi noticed that when Kaede's light unintentionally shined on one of the grounded crystals, it regained some of its luster.

"Too bad my bag's kinda full," Kaede started as she lightly pushed one of crystals aside while walking, "I'd take one of them with me." They seemed like they would make a great souvenir, though Shuichi didn't seem to get it since he asked why she would want to do that, she replied, "They're pretty, don't you think?" He took a moment before agreeing.

Kaede eventually reached a small, square room; she had to wait for Shuichi who lagged behind for some reason. There was a rectangular archway that had larger versions of the hallway's crystals on each side of it; the light from them made it possible to see a symbol above the archway, it was reminiscent of the sun. They head on in.

Gilded Chambers 1F

The large room seemed about as lit as the entrance-way, it made it slightly harder to see into the distance. "We might wanna tread cautiously." Shuichi suggested, not wanting to run into enemies unprepared. Kaede agreed and headed east, finding the stairs within the same room.

Gilded Chambers 2F

They almost wouldn't have noticed the enemy if it wasn't emitting its own light. Fortunately, Kaede had the first hit.

Kaede used Tackle!

Magmar took 36 damage!

Kaede was inflicted with burn!

She flinched, not expecting the stinging pain she got upon impact. Shuichi didn't seem to notice the status ailment and went for an attack.

Shuichi used Dragon Rage!

Magmar took 40 damage!

Magmar fainted!

There seemed to be no other enemies in the small room. Shuichi looked over to Kaede, "You have a rawst berry, right?" She didn't know what he meant by that, so he elaborated, "It's not good to leave a burn like that… I'm sure you have at least one in there." He pointed to her bag. She still didn't really get how a berry could solve something like that, but considering Shuichi's knowledge on the specifics of this world she decided to go with his judgment and looked for the berry.

After she found it – or more specifically after Shuichi pointed out which one was the correct berry – she ate it and her burn immediately healed. "Amazing!" The Skitty exclaimed out of awe, which made the black fluff chuckle over her amazement of something so simple; though admittedly he was about as impressed as she was when he was first introduced to the effective healing properties of these berries.

She looked at him, "Thank you, Saihara-kun!" His demeanor quickly changed when he faced her, he could have sworn he saw a different image; he felt kind of overwhelmed and looked away, "Um… yeah."

They went north and found the stairs in the next room.

Gilded Chambers 3F – 8F

They made quick work on these floors; it was kind of weird how there were barely any enemies. "Maybe the thing that caused the crater scared them off…" Kaede lamented after Shuichi expressed his unease about the lack of pokemon.

Gilded Chambers 9F

The light from the crystals were almost nonexistent, making Kaede's light the only viable source of visibility. It only added to Shuichi's unease, especially considering that there was no telling when an enemy can come at any time.

As they were walking to the west, they could almost see a figure in the distance. They were preparing to fight the potential enemy, but once they got to the next room –which was a dead end - there was no one there. "You saw it too, right?" Kaede asked just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Yeah…"

They both got a chill.

They turned back and started walking a little quicker than before. They found the stairs past a few rooms northward.

Gilded Chambers 10F

None of the crystals glimmered anymore. They could barely tell how big the room was, even when Kaede rotated in a circle to check their surroundings. Shuichi suggested that they follow along the wall and hope that they spot the stairs.

They managed to find – or trip over- the stairs in the room to the west.

Inner Chamber

This room was much unlike the corridors they were navigating in; the crystals glimmered a lot brighter, even brighter than the ones at the entrance, though that may be because there is a circular window – with broken glass - above the partially open large wooden double doors. It seems to still be bright daylight outside.

The walls were much more decorated with etchings which led the team's eyes to two giant reliefs that were on opposing walls from each other. They looked reminiscent of monsters; the only symbols that were truly recognizable to them were the moon and the sun.

The ray of light that came from the window did not help with the chill that the two suddenly got. "L-Let's keep going…" Kaede headed for the large door and Shuichi followed, but they both stopped when it suddenly slammed shut.

"What business do you have here?"

They both looked around trying to find where the voice was coming from. This proved useless, so Kaede called out, "W-We're explorers-"

"Just like that brat!"

Suddenly, a white and blue cat-like creature with folded over ears appeared in the center of the room. Even though its tone was irritated, there was still a remnant of eloquence to it. "I will not fall for the same trick again!" It was poised to attack. Kaede tried to reason with it, but it didn't listen and sent a wave of energy at both of them. They barely dodge it by jumping separate ways.

"It's no use, we'll have to fight," Shuichi said while getting up to prepare his own attack, "it's not going to listen otherwise." That sounded like that would irritate it further, but there didn't seem to be any other way around it.

Kaede was the first to attack with a tackle, but she was stopped midway when she was lifted off the ground with some kind of psychokinetic power. While the psychic was distracted, Shuichi ran over and managed to bite its arm, causing them to lose focus and drop Kaede. She managed to land on her feet but stumbled out of shock.

Shuichi did not release its arm, mostly thinking that it wouldn't be able to use its psychic powers while being hurt – and by a dark type move at that. However, it faced him and let out a high pitched whine which caused him to release its arm out of pain. He wasn't expecting any fairy type moves.

The skitter of paws could be heard, but the opposing pokemon noticed too late and was hit in the back, causing it to stumble near to where Shuichi was shaking himself off from the last attack. He was about to prepare for dragon breath, but upon noticing how weak it looked, he decided to relent.

The pokemon tried to get up, its eyes still showing determination, but exhaustion overtook them and it collapsed to the ground. It weakly pounded the ground with its small fist, "I failed again."

Kaede walked up to the fallen pokemon, "Are you alright?" She had a feeling that she knew the answered but figured that she might as well ask, especially since she felt kind of bad about having to injure them.

The pokemon looked away from her, "If that other pokemon hadn't drained me..."

To get some clarification, Kaede ask, "Did you fight someone else?"

It seemed to have calmed down, "'Tis my job," it got up to sit more properly, "I can't let people go through casually."

Shuichi had to ask, "Why not?" If there was a need for a guard, then there must have been something very important up ahead.

The pokemon looked slightly towards the door and sighed, "You might as well see why for yourself," it then spoke quietly to itself, "not like it matters now."

Kaede glanced at the door, and then went up to the guard. She had decided to offer the pokemon some of the berries she was keeping in her bag since it was partly their fault that it was injured; she also asked what the pokemon's name was. It answered with "Myst" and did not refuse the offer, asking for some oran berries. While Kaede was trying to give them to her, Shuichi had just remembered something they had seen in the dungeon, "Are there any ghost types in this place?"

Myst shook her head, "There are none that I know of, did you see some in the chambers?"

He nodded, "We might have seen one…" Or maybe it was just their imagination.

Once Myst had gotten all the berries she needed, Team Harmony headed for the door, really wanting to know what was on the other side.


End file.
